PAL Academy
by BookPrincess32
Summary: School reopens as usual after summer vacation. Ash, a first year student in the High School Division returns to another school year with his four friends (I think we all know who they are). His school life is of course, fun, but also extremely busy when he's the most popular boy in school, the new Student Council President, the class monitor, captain of many clubs, and many more.
1. The last day of summer, a new year

**BP; Hi everyone, here is the first chapter of the high school version of PAL, where we follow Ash and his friends among the ups and downs of their school life after their summer vacation. There are some things that would be parallel to the original story, so enjoy!**

 **Warning: May have spoilers.**

Ash should have known that from the way the woman kept looking at his name tag that she was going to ask.

"Ash Ketchum." The woman said as she pulled out her wallet. "Now how do I know that name?"

"Gee, Ma'am." Ash replied. "I don't know." He was somewhat sick of people gawking at him. True, he was the most popular boy in PAL Academy, one of the top students in his cohort (and also youngest in his class), captain of many CCAs (Co-Curricular Activities), which meant whatever competitions he participated would be put in the school and local paper, but it'd be nice to have some privacy once in a while.

Ash Ketchum is a 15-year-old boy, and is also the youngest of his class (he was put in the first class of the Advanced Programme). He stood at 185cm tall, and he had brown eyes that he usually wore half-closed, giving him a calm look. His hair was also smoothed down, and cut to above-shoulder length. His favourite subject is Social Studies. He is the captain of Pokémon Conference Club, Pokéathlon Club, Outdoor Adventure Club, Current Affairs Club, Environmental Rangers Club, Scouts, Ultimate Frisbee Club, Climbing Club, Basketball Club, Rotaract Club, Concert Band Club, Floorball Club, Mentoring Club, Cycling Club, Squash Club and last but not least, the Skating Club. He could easily be captain of all the 18 Pokémon-type clubs, but he simply chose not to. He had a Special Star ranking, which not many can get.

"I know." The woman said, snapping her fingers, and pointing at him. "You're on PAL Academy's men's soccer team!"

"No, Ma'am." Ash answered. "I'm not." Did she mix him up with Phillip Robinson, one of his friends? Maybe he shouldn't be surprised, since all his five friends were captain of many CCAs, top in their levels (they always get the first five spots), and of course, are very popular. In fact, their clique was the most popular in school, and that is saying something, considering how big their school was. Everyone dreamt of being part of their clique.

"You weren't one of the finalists in the Kalos Grand Festival, were you?" The woman asked. But Ash could tell that she knew that she was wrong again, and thought she must've mixed him up with Amethyst Paradinight **(A/N: known as Pakura Ameyuri in the original. Yes, Amethyst Paradinight is her real name in the original.)** , as she is the one who won the Kalos Grand Festival, not him.

One of the CCAs she was captain of is the Pokémon Contest Club, a CCA that is dedicated to Coordinators whose desire is to participate in Pokémon Contests. Those who make it to the school team would be able to participate in Pokémon Contests to earn Ribbons, and if one won five Ribbons in a specific region, they would earn the right to represent the school in that region's Grand Festival.

Meanwhile, one of the CCAs he had captainship over is the Pokémon Conference Club, where Trainers who had the desire to focus on Pokémon battling, especially in a competitive kind, join. Like the Pokémon Contest Club, those who are in the school team would earn the right to represent their school in Pokémon Conferences.

"No, ma'am." Ash said, wishing she would just let it go, but she didn't.

"Goodness. I just know I know your name from somewhere." The woman said, handing Ash her credit card to pay for her purchases. "You sure I didn't read about you in the paper?"

'Yup….she's one of those that hardly reads the paper….' Ash thought, but he said, "Maybe." He had been in the local paper many times announcing his win on various competitions. Being an honours student also didn't help matters in terms of being put on the paper.

"It's probably," He said to the woman as he ran her credit card through the scanner, "because I am one of the employees for this bookshop, which is the only one in this town." He knew it didn't sound like much, but Present Wisdom is the only independently owned bookstore in Lavender Town, Kanto.

"No." The woman shook her head. "That's not it either."

Ash could understand her frustration, but just said, "Well…maybe you just…you know. Have one of those names that sound familiar."

"Maybe that's it." The woman replied, but she sounded doubtful. "Gosh, this is going to bug me all night. I just know it."

Her credit card was approved. Ash tore off the slip for her to sign and started bagging her purchases, before handing it to her.

"Oh well." The lady said, taking the bag from Ash and her receipt. "I guess it's just one of those things."

"I guess it is." Ash answered, not without some relief. Because she was finally leaving.

However, his relief turned out to be short-lived, because a second later, the bells over at the front door to the shop tinkled, and Candice- if Ash isn't wrong, she is in the Intermediate Class under the High School Division in his school, and most likely a Double Star. She was holding an ice cream purchased from the shop across from the bookstore.

"Mum, would you hurry up? I've been waiting for you like ever."

And Ash realized, belatedly, who he had been talking to. Great. While he can't be expected to read every credit card someone hands to him, the last thing he needed was a schoolmate to come in here….not counting his friends.

"Oh, Candice, you'll know." Candice's mother said to her daughter. "How do I know the name Ash Ketchum?"

"Oh My God! Mum! Ash Ketchum is the most popular boy in our school! He's captain of so many CCAs I cannot name, one of the top students of the Advanced Class in the High School Division, and he's a member of the Student Council who was nominated to be the Student Council President! Oh, I hope he becomes President! He's our Academy's Champion!"

Candice's mother flung an amazed look at him. "And he's pretty modest too." She nodded in approval.

That was when Candice finally noticed him, standing behind the cash register.

"Ash! Can I have your autograph?" Candice asked.

Ash fought the urge to hit his head on the counter.

* * *

"Yo, Ash! Want to hang out after you're done with your shift?" Jude Harrison, one of his friends, asked as he, Phillip, Rosaline and Amethyst came into the store an hour after Candice and her mother left it.

These are the other four that made up of the most popular clique in PAL Academy, members of the Student Council, and there are also his good friends.

First off, it was Jude Harrison. He is 17 this year, and is the second most popular guy in school. He had black hair with smooth bangs brushed to the side with wide amber eyes that is usually filled with mischief, in addition to pale skin and soft lips that oozes out the desire to be kissed. He had a slight muscular build and is the tallest of the group, about 187cm tall. He is the captain of the Fashion Club, Drama Club, Entertainers Club, DanceSport Club, Contemporary Dance Club, Photography Club, Pokémon Connoisseur Club, Water Club, Dark Club, Cheerleading Club, Aquatic Diving Club, Swimming Club, Water Polo Club, Scuba Diving Club and Canoeing Club. His favourite subject is Chemistry. His Star Rank is Triple.

Second was Rosaline Pyra. She was a year older than Ash, being 16 this year, and is the second most popular girl in school. She had black hair as well with hot pink highlights (the school allowed hair dye or highlights) and wide black eyes as dark as midnight. She was a petite girl with a delicate figure, and is the shortest of the group at 176cm, making others describe her as "cute". Her favourite subject is History. She is captain of the Fire Club, Psychic Club, Anime Club, Arts Appreciation, Aikido Club, Public Speaking Club, Marathon Club, Poetry Club, Astrology Club, Track and Field, Yoga Club, Mythology Club, and Library Club. She is a Triple Star like Jude.

Third was Phillip Robinson. He was the same age as Ash, and is the third most popular guy in school. He had brown hair with bangs that were combed down and baby blue eyes. He stood around 183cm tall, and is also the smartest among them (He always secures first position in class and level in exams). His favourite subject is Physics, Elementary Mathematics (E-Maths for short), and Additional Mathematics (A-Maths for short). He is the captain of the Electric Club, Steel Club, Infocomm Club, Videography Club, Board Games Club, Chess Club, Robotics Innovation Technology Club, Football Club, Tennis Club, Science Club, Stage Production Club, Astronomy Club, and Computer Club. He is a Triple Star as well.

The last of the group, but not least, was Amethyst Paradinight. She was the oldest of the group, being 18 this year, and is the most popular girl in school, and also considered to be the most beautiful girl in school. She had long ebony black hair that reaches to the middle of her back, with amethyst eyes that is usually emotionless (probably why she was named Amethyst) and high cheekbones. She had soft pink lips that every male had the desire to kiss, with a voluptuous figure every girl would kill to have. Her favourite subject is English and Biology. She is the captain of the Fairy Club, Ice Club, Pokémon Contest Club, Pokémon Showcase Club, Japanese Cultural Club, Archery Club, Bowling Club, Ice Sports Club, Shooting, Gymnastics Club, Red Cross, Piano Club, Strings Club, and Choir. She was offered captainship for the Dragon Club and the Psychic Club as well, being the best Dragon and Psychic Pokémon user in school, but she had declined. She is also a Special Star.

These, of course, made their school lives very busy, in addition to their school work and language classes they might have signed up for.

The five of them also were the ones behind PAL Anonymous, a website where students submit their problems to them (with a pen name), and they would reply on their website.

Now, in PAL Academy, every student is ranked on a Star system that is based on the individual's contribution to the school, achievements, grades and good behaviour, among other things. Students can receive one of five ranks: No Star, Single, Double, Triple, and Special. Their rank is displayed by the appropriate number of stars pinned on the collar of their school blazer (they can wear whatever they want in PAL Academy, but they had to wear the school's blazer over their outfit), and may grant them extra privileges or discipline depending on the rank. A student's Star Ranking also determines the student's dorm rooms and room assignment, food portions, chores, and monthly allowance.

Ash smiled in greeting at his friends, and they did smile back, however, Ash wondered why did he have the feeling Amethyst's smile was somewhat forced, but he dismissed it.

Jude swung himself up on the counter and helped himself to a Lindt truffle from the candy display. The others were looking around the store, wondering if the shop might sell something they want or need.

Not that Ash was mad that Jude took it without permission, but it'd be suspicious if it wasn't paid for.

"Sure, I'd like to after the shift ends, but you'd have to pay up 60 Pokédollars for that." Ash informed him. Jude shrugged, and paid up 100 Pokédollars. Then he plucked another Lindt ball, and tossed it to Rosaline, who was so surprised the Lindt chocolate truffle came at her out of nowhere, she didn't think to catch it, and it smacked her on the shoulder, and before it could fall to the floor, Amethyst sighed, and used her telekinesis to catch it, before passing it to Rosaline.

"You still owe me 20 Pokédollars." Ash said to Jude.

"Later." Jude waved him off.

"How long are you going to continue your shift?" Phillip asked.

"Until closing time, which is at 9." Ash replied.

Phillip nodded, as he caught a Lindt ball from Jude.

"If you break that display glass." Ash warned Jude, because he was still sitting on the counter, swinging his feet in front of the glass display case beneath it, "I'm making you take those entire dolls home with you." Because beneath the glass are about thirty Madame Alexander dolls, most of which are based on fictional characters from books or movies.

Did Ash mention it was his idea to put the dolls behind glass, after Ash figured it out the bookstore he is now working at has been losing a doll a week to doll collectors, who are notoriously light-handed when it comes to Madame Alexander and who carry very roomy tote bags into shops like this one for the sole purpose of adding into their collection without the pesky burden of having to pay for it?

Jude once mentioned he hated dolls. The way they stare into his eyes, he said, is just plain creepy.

Jude stopped swinging his feet, as Amethyst looked at the display glass to admire the dolls.

When the minute hand reached 12 and the hour hand reached 9 at night, Ash started to close up.

"My goodness. I didn't realize it had got so late." Ash's employer, a woman named Amber came out of the back office. She had wavy blonde hair and grey eyes, and she usually wore grey eye shadow and lipstick.

"Hello, boys and girls." said Amber, greeting Ash and his friends. "What are you kids planning on doing with your last free Sunday night before school starts? Is someone having a party?"

"No, we did receive invitations to some parties, but we're not going. Parties like those involve alcohol, and remember what happened the last time alcohol was involved?" Jude sounded disgusted.

"Yeah, some guy in our school two years ago tried to make Amethyst play a drinking game and made her drink more than the usual amount that was agreed upon because he thought she didn't drink them even if she did in front of him. After that, he tried to take her to a room to sexually assault her when she was supposedly drunk, but luckily, Ash saw him and beat him up for that." Phillip said. "He was expelled the very next day of course, when we reported."

"Yeah, but the look on his face was priceless when he realized Amethyst wasn't drunk yet." Rosaline laughed.

"I see." Amber nodded.

Ash couldn't help but laugh, as he reached for the cash drawer to count out the day's receipts, before lifting the cash drawer out of the register then walked back to the back of the store to lock it up in the office overnight.

On the way, he noticed that Jeremy, one of his regular customers, was engrossed in the latest _Ride_ , a car magazine. His three children were busy wrecking the Brio train set that Ash's employer Amber puts out for kids to play with while their parents shop.

"Hey, guys." Ash said to the kids, who were ramming the train's caboose into the block building they just built. "We have to close now. Sorry."

The children groaned, and Ash knew that their dad clearly didn't have as many cool toys at home as they did at the store.

Jeremy looked up, surprised. "Is it really closing time?" he asked, and then looked at his watch. "Oh, wow, look at that."

Ash sighed, and shook his head, and he continued his way, and locked up, before joining his friends, who were waiting outside the door for him.

They piled into the red convertible (belonging to Amethyst. For some reason, she kept asking Ash, who is the only one with a Driver's License among them besides her, to store it at his house, a reason she refused to tell him, just saying it's a personal reason. Ash, as her friend, didn't want to pry, so he agreed.), and Ash started to drive them to their favourite café, and they snagged the balcony table, where they can see what is going on at the streets at the same time.

When they sat down, Jude looked down and said, "Hey, look, down. Is that our classmate Cynthia?" The others followed their gazes down, and saw a very pretty girl with long blonde hair that reaches to her knees and some of her fringe was covering her one eye. She is wearing a casual outfit- a light blue vest-like sleeveless shirt with black pants.

"She sure grown to be one beautiful girl." Rosaline agreed. "But Amy still beats her."

"Indeed." Ash nodded to Amethyst. "Besides, I'm sure Cynthia is not the only one."

"Well, can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they see your new look." Jude nodded to him.

Ash sighed, as he remembered that out of jealousy of his achievements, one of the students poured acid on his face at the end of year celebration. He had waited until Ash went to the toilet alone and attacked him from there. However, Mika, a Student Council member, witnessed it, and reported the student immediately, and Principal Anderson was so angry he had caned the student on the spot in front of the student body, and expelled him.

Amethyst had went to heal his face in secret, but she couldn't return his birthmarks, which was why his face is now birthmark-free. He decided to cut his hair and comb it down as well, and spend more time indoors than out, giving him cream-coloured skin instead of the tanned skin he usually had.

"I still say you look more handsome now." Rosaline giggled.

Ash gave his friends a wry smile.

"Do you think we would make a good soul mate someday?" Phillip asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." Ash muttered.

"Why? What's wrong of finding your soul mate in school?" Jude wanted to know. "I mean, that may be the only chance you find your soul mate. If you blow it off just because you don't want to meet your soul mate school, you may never meet your soul mate, and you'll be lonely forever."

"I don't believe we HAVE only one soul mate." Ash replied. "I bet we're given multiple chances to meet them. Sure, you could meet a soul mate in school. But that doesn't mean if you don't act on it, you'll never meet anyone else. You will, just at a time that's more convenient for you."

Phillip frowned. "What's so inconvenient about meeting your soul mate in high school, though?"

"Let me see." said Ash rubbing his chin as if to think about it. "How about…you still live with your parents? Where are you and your soul mate supposed to well, get it on?"

"Er…..car?" Rosaline suggested.

"See, that's B.S." said Ash. Only he didn't just say the initials. "What's so romantic about that? Forget about it."

"So, you're trying to say no one should date while we're still in school?" Jude asked.

"Sure, you can date." said Ash. "You can like to the movies and hang out and stuff. But don't, you know, fall in love."

Amethyst rolled her eyes and said, "What? Don't fall in love, Ash?"

"Not with somebody you go to school with. I mean, you don't want to spit where you eat, do you?" Ash asked.

Only he didn't say spit.

"Well, you have a point." Amethyst muttered.

"I'm serious. You date someone in school, and then break up, you still have to see them in school. That's like super tense. Who needs all this, when you already have CCA, competitions, classes and even our website to help out students in the mix?" Ash asked. "Besides, we're the most popular clique, everyone wants to date us for the wrong reasons. Who is going to like us for who we are, rather than our looks, popularity and talent?"

"Can I get you guys the usual?" That was what Terra, their waitress, wanted to know as she came over to take their order.

The group nodded, and as Terra, left, Rosaline said, "Well, Ash does have a point. But you know, since we are now in the High School Division, people probably would be starting to date right, left and center."

"Yeah, especially somebody who had a crush on you since you were 14." Jude sniggered to Amethyst, as Terra came back with their orders.

He remembered that in PAL Anonymous, someone had written to them about his crush on Amethyst, and it wasn't difficult to find out who was the one who wrote that letter, as he mentioned he was from the same class as her, and his pen name (Dragon Master) also gave him away. They knew it was Lance, the captain of the Dragon Club, Dragon Dance Club, Dragon Boat Club, and also a member of the Student Council like them. After all, who else who loves Dragon Pokémon is in her class?

"He'll get over it." Amethyst sighed, as she sipped her tea. "It's just a silly crush."

"I doubt crushes last that long, though." Rosaline said. "Probably didn't help that both of you are from the same hometown, and do run into each other over the summer."

Ash had to stifle a laugh at that.

* * *

"Ash, you got mail." His mother announced, when he came home for supper, and Pikachu came bounding to him for a hug. "It's from the school." She handed him an envelope that had the school emblem at the top left hand corner.

Ash felt that there was something inside the envelope, and when he tore it open, a badge fell out of the envelope. Ash turned the badge, and his mouth opened. It said, "Student Council President." He read the letter, which was congratulating him as the teachers had voted him to be the new Student Council President, and of course, he has to prepare a speech for the convocation.

"Honey, what is it?" His mother asked, and Ash showed her the badge.

"Oh, I'm so proud!" Delia swept him up into a hug. "My baby boy, new Student Council President! What say we have a celebration? You can let out all your Pokémon!"

Ash nodded, and went to get his Pokémon, as his mother decided to get a cake from the nearby store to celebrate his new position.

Ash chuckled when his Pokémon began eating the food with gusto, and had to laugh even harder when some of his Pokémon began snatching food and there were arguments, but intervened when it looked like they were about to use their moves on each other.

Meanwhile, he decided to eat while preparing his speech. He figured he thinks best while he ate something small.

Later that night, Ash had packed his school blazer, necessities, Pokéballs containing his Pokémon and the books he had bought for the upcoming year. He also made sure his Mega Glove is also packed.

"Well, tomorrow would be a new day, right, Pikachu, Lucario?" Ash asked his faithful partners.

" **That's right!"** Pikachu replied.

" **Indeed."** Lucario answered. **"Did you pack everything?"**

"Well, let me check." Ash ticked the things he had packed off the list. "Yup, I did, and my outfit is also over there ready to be worn when I wake up, and my speech, all written and ready. My timetable also had been printed from the school website."

Just then, his mum came into the room, and sank down on the bed beside him.

"How are you doing, Ash?" His mum asked. "All ready for school tomorrow? It's a big day….first year in the High School Division. I can't believe you're in the High School Division already!"

"Yeah mum." Ash replied. "Everything's great. Don't worry about me." Ash replied.

"You're the one I don't need to worry about." Delia said, patting him on the leg. "Well, honey, becoming a Student Council President is great, but you know the responsibilities, but I don't need to remind you of that…I know what a good head you've got on your shoulders."

"Thanks mum." Ash nodded.

"Well, goodnight honey. Don't forget to pack you-know-what. You don't want to be known as the President who doesn't wear you-know-what, do you?"

"Mum!" Ash shouted, embarrassed.

"See you in the morning." His mum laughed.

"See you." Ash mumbled.

* * *

"Well, bye Ash." His mother kissed him on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, mum." He replied, as he boarded the bus with Pikachu and Lucario on the way to Celadon City carrying his luggage, which was where the PAL train would be. It would take him at least an hour to get to Celadon City. He sat, and listed to some of the music he had downloaded on his IPhone.

"Hey, Ash!" His childhood friend, Gary, was taking the seat next to him. Although they were the same age, they were in different level of classes, Gary being in the Intermediate level. "Ready for a new year?"

"Definitely." Ash replied. They weren't exactly close friends, because it was hard to be close friends with the most popular boy in school, since he had such a busy social calendar. But close enough that they had been over to each other's houses to play during the summer. Although once, when Ash was at Gary's house, his grandfather, Professor Oak, the Physics teacher in PAL Academy, was baking a bunch of homemade granola at that time, and the smell of burnt oatmeal was kind of overpowering.

"So, new Student Council President, huh?" Gary smirked.

"How did you know?" Ash was surprised.

"Well, a little Pidgey told me." Gary said in a sing-song voice.

'Must've been Professor Oak. After all he is a teacher in the school.' Ash thought.

Their school was divided into three main divisions: The Elementary division was where children from 7 to 12 study. Middle School Division was for students whose age typically range from 13 to 15. And finally, High School Division is for the second students with their age range being from 16 to 20 (because some of the children enter the school as late as 10 years old, the max age to be able to register as first years in PAL Academy).

And in the three divisions, it is further separated into three levels of classes: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Most Beginner students are Single Star (except Elementary, where some are No-Stars), most Intermediate students are normally Double Stars, and most Advanced students, are of course, Triple Stars. Special Star rankings are given to those true geniuses of the Academy, and they are the truly gifted individuals with formidable grades and achievements, and give great contributions to the school. Out of the entire school, there were only four people with the Special Star ranking, but two of them graduated last year, which leaves Ash and Amethyst being the only Special Star students left.

By the time they reached, Ash was yawning due to boredom, as he made his way to the train that would take them to PAL Academy. The PAL Academy train (can be told by the school emblem at the side of the train) would start off from Kanto, before going to Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and finally, Kalos before they really reach the school, as the students all come from different regions.

He and Gary handed their tickets to the security guard manning that train, who stamped their tickets and let them pass the border. Ash boarded the train, and got into a compartment alone (Gary went to find some of his classmates), and took out a laptop and the charger from the luggage, before using telekinesis to lift the trunk and place it at the shelf above.

He turned on his laptop and began watching some movies (there were chargers to plug his laptop so he need not worry about the battery running out) and practicing his speech, as the train started moving to Violet City.

Ash was so engrossed he barely heard the compartment door open, and when he looked up, he groaned.

"Oh, not you again." Ash groaned. Because standing there was Morgan.

He was a girly person who had ugly, long green hair (which he thinks it's nice) and was wearing checkered shirt and striped short skirt under the school blazer that made Ash want to puke. He was also somewhat overweight. He wasn't wearing any star on his collar, indicating he was a No-Star. He is also one of the most unpopular students in school.

Ash is not dissing him because of his appearance or he is a No-Star or anything, but it's because of his attitude that makes Ash and the others loathe him- this person had an ego that is bigger than a Wailord, and is delusional, thinking he is very popular and looks better than everyone in school. He is also extremely vain.

He thought he deserved to have the best rooms as well (generally, No-Stars sleep in a large room with other No Star children, but for Morgan he slept in a room in the attic, since he is older), and he kept writing to the Student Council about it. Also, he was a bully, picking on the other No-Star students because he was much bigger than them (No Star students are generally young, being as young as 7)

"What? Not happy to see me, a popular student, new guy?" Morgan huffed in his high-pitched tone, pushing his way into the compartment.

"These seats are reserved for my friends, not you." Ash stopped him with telekinesis.

"Hey, I'm popular so let me sit." Morgan said. "Or are you dissing me because you're jealous that I'm more popular than you, new guy? You should be grateful I chose to sit with you."

"No, I don't want you sitting with me, and I'm not a new student, now out!" Ash shouted, as Lucario pushed Morgan and his luggage out with Psychic, before locking the compartment. Ash sat down, thanking Lucario, and ignored the banging Morgan was making, and him shouting, asking him who he is if he isn't a new guy.

Ash noticed that the train had stopped, and is now letting the Johto students in. He heard someone whack Morgan on the head (judging by his yell), and the door knocking. Ash looked at the glass panel to see Amethyst, and he unlocked the door with telekinesis to let her and her Sylveon in. Ash thought Amethyst looked somewhat upset as she loaded her stuff at the shelf above them with telekinesis.

"Good news: I got the Student Council President position." Ash announced.

"So you got that badge." Amethyst said. "I had the Vice-President position."

"That's great!" Ash exclaimed. "How did your parents take the news? Did they celebrate?"

Amethyst stayed silent. What actually happened was her mother giving her a tight slap and shouting a girl should not be even be spending so much time studying. In fact, she was locked in the room as punishment for the night without dinner.

Amethyst never mentioned her abuse at her family's hands, because she feared them, and as she usually healed her injuries before she met her friends, they weren't aware. In fact, her family never paid her school fees or her schoolbooks or even her school blazer. They were paid by herself and her eldest brother, who was currently working as a Zodiac member in the Hunter's Association somewhere in PAL.

"Not really, said there's room for improvement." Amethyst mentioned off-handedly.

Ash thought she was hiding something, but simply nodded, as she took the seat across from him, as the train started to move towards Mauville City, which was where Phillip lived.

"Anything interesting happened?" Amethyst asked.

"No, just Morgan trying to sit in this compartment." Ash replied. "You did see him outside our compartment, right?"

Amethyst nodded, just as her Love Ball opened and Skitty appeared on her lap. She curled on Amethyst's lap and started sleeping.

"Why come out if you're tired?" Amethyst mumbled, sighing.

Ash laughed. "Maybe she wanted to stay out with you. Better keep her in the Pokéball later in case May sees her." But since he sounded more amused than serious, it wasn't too convincing. Everyone knows that this Skitty formerly belonged to May, a member of the Pokémon Contest Club. She and her friend Dawn usually challenged Amethyst for her captainship, but hey always lost badly.

May used her Skitty to attack Amethyst two years ago, but Amethyst used her ice powers to freeze Skitty, and May ran away so as not to be caught, dropping Skitty's Pokéball in the process. Amethyst then went to heal Skitty, and feed her a Poképuff, and she admired Amethyst being kind to her despite the fact that she attacked her, and decided to follow Amethyst, and willingly go into Amethyst's Love Ball, the only Pokéball she had with her at that time. Ever since, Skitty was a great help in Pokémon Contests and Showcases, even helping her win the Kalos Queen title last year.

The train stopped at Mauville City train station, and true enough, the compartment door had some knocking, and Ash use telekinesis to unlock the door, and Phillip came in, his Pachirisu on his shoulder. Ash helped load his luggage at the shelf, and Phillip nodded in thanks as he sat beside Ash.

"Anything new?" Phillip asked.

" **Besides Ash being Student Council President and Amy being Vice-President? Nah."** Pikachu replied.

"Ah….I became the Treasurer." Phillip showed his badge.

"That's great, Phillip!" Ash nodded, as the train started moving again.

Just then, the compartment door opened and a voice said, "Well, if it isn't the Pokémon thief."

Amethyst sighed, and turned to see May, with her friend Misty and her brother Max. The latter was drooling over Amethyst, much to her disgust.

"Well, if it isn't the person who ran away without her Skitty just because she doesn't want to be caught." Phillip retorted.

May spluttered, "I did not run away, you…!"

"May would take your captainship away from you this year, wait and see!" Misty pointed at Amethyst. "And I will take the captainship of the Water Club away from Jude as well." The thing about captainship is, anytime a member can challenge the captain for their captainship. If the challenger won, the challenger would be the new captain. This also applies to the other positions members may have (Vice-captain, secretary, member of school team, etc.)

'Coming from someone who didn't even win a Grand Festival yet, while I won all 40 Ribbons from PAL, and four Grand Festivals.' Amethyst thought. 'And you'll never win against Jude….he, like us, has the advantage of commanding Pokémon without speaking, unlike you….'

"You're just sore that you didn't obtain a Vaporeon like Jude and I did, huh, Misty?" Ash asked, and they turned to see Ash, and had hearts in their eyes.

"Hey, new guy, do you want to sit with us at our compartment? You don't have to sit with them." Misty asked in a sultry voice.

Ash shook his head in the negative.

'Bingo' Phillip thought. He knew they can't recognize him.

" **They're annoying."** Sylveon flicked her tail, and May looked at her Sylveon in envy. How come her Eevee didn't evolve into a Sylveon?

Phillip interrupted with "Well, hopefully you can improve your Glaceon so you would stop being envious of her Sylveon."

May glared at Phillip, and was about to say something, but Amethyst cut her off by saying, "Yes, whatever." and slammed the door on their faces, leaving them gawking.

"It's about lunch time. Someone go to the Supply Station and get some lunch for us. Who wants to go?" Phillip asked.

"I'll go." Ash volunteered, and left the compartment. He scanned the train until he located the Supply Station, a deep compartment set off by a counter. Students were already waiting behind it, but there's not a lot of activity there. Ash went up and requested three boxes of lunch, and the man asked who was with him in the compartment. When Ash told him who, the man checked the student list, took one box from the Triple Star section and two from the Special Star section, and handed him the said boxes along with drink packets. Ash lifted them with telekinesis, much to the amazement of students, although it isn't unusual. Ash turned to find a group forming rapidly behind him.

"Excuse me." Ash said, as he levitated their lunches and drinks through the others back to his compartment.

"Here are your lunches." Ash said to his friends.

"Cool. A Three-tiered lunch box for us." Amethyst commented, taking her lunch box.

Phillip took his lunch box, which was a traditional lunch box.

Ash opened his lunch box, and began eating. They had already fed their Pokémon with a huge meal before they boarded so their Pokémon weren't hungry.

Phillip ended up eating as much as Amethyst as she kept transferring some of her food to his box, claiming she wasn't very hungry.

As they sipped their drinks, the train had reached Celestic Town, which was where the train station is located.

"Ah! That was a great lunch." Ash said, as the attendant came to collect their lunch boxes back. At the same time, Rosaline entered the compartment with her Espeon. She used her telekinesis to place her luggage above them.

"Did you get a badge?" Ash asked.

"I'm the new Secretary of the Student Council." Rosaline replied, sitting next to Amethyst. "What did you guys get?"

"I'm the Treasurer." Phillip replied.

"Vice-President." Amethyst answered shortly.

"I got the President position." Ash said.

"If Jude gets a position too, it means all five of us are part of the Committee!" Rosaline squealed excitedly, as the train started moving to Nimbasa City.

Just then, the compartment door opened, and a girl with dark blue hair and matching eyes were standing at the door. She was wearing a cute dress everyone thought was too short for her, and a white hat with a pink half Pokéball logo on it with pink boots.

"What do you want now?" Phillip sighed to Dawn.

"I'm just here to say you might want to watch out captain, I will take the Pokémon Contest Club captainship away from you." Dawn warned. "How could you kick me out of the school team just because I got Runner-up for the Sinnoh Grand Festival?"

"You got kicked out of the school team is because you had been skipping practices after the Grand Festival, and I caught you trying to sabotage another one of my members in the surveillance camera." Amethyst said calmly. "It has nothing to do with your performance."

"You won't be saying that for long, as you won't hold your captainship for long this year." Dawn sneered.

"Ok, we get it." Dawn turned to see Ash, and of course, drooled over him like the last two girls, and how Max drooled over Amethyst.

Ash had enough, and used telekinesis to slam the door, much to Dawn's surprise, as she was about to ask him if he would like to sit with her and her friends. "Another annoyance." He muttered. Amethyst nodded in agreement.

During this time, Rosaline decided to play Go Fish with Phillip. Amethyst and Ash were watching them play with mild interest.

"Got any fours?" Rosaline asked Phillip.

"Go fish." Phillip said, not even looking up from his remaining card.

"Darn!" Rosaline quipped, picking a card from the pile. She looked at her cards again.

"Got any Eights?" Rosaline finally asked.

"Go fish." Phillip replied.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Rosaline hissed. "Got any fives?"

"Go fish." said Phillip.

"STOP HAVING NO CARDS!" Rosaline yelled, as she picked out another card, and dealt a pair.

"Not my fault you asked for the cards I don't have. Do you have any twos?"

Rosaline gave him the requested card, and he put his remaining two cards down. "I win." Phillip stated.

"You should know better than to challenge Phillip in games." Ash said, settling back in his seat, just as the train reached Nimbasa City.

"Yo, what's up?" Jude came in and did fist bumps with his friends. "Seems like I'm late to the party, huh?" He sat down as the train moved towards Lumiose City .

"No kidding. It's almost dinnertime." Phillip laughed.

"Yeah, we'll only reach by midnight." Ash replied. "So what position did you get?"

"Oh, I got the Discipline I/C position." Jude answered, just as the compartment door opened again.

"What now?" Ash shouted at the people outside, which was Iris, a member of the Dragon Club, and Cilan, a member of the Pokémon Connoisseur Club.

"I just want to say to that emo girl, that I will take away her title of the strongest Dragon user in the school!" Iris pointed to Amethyst, who looked bored.

"Can't you challenge Lance? He's your captain." Amethyst yawned.

"Yes, but I know for one that the school offered the captainship to you. You were their first choice, and don't think I'm stupid, but you battled Lance with Dragon Pokémon once, and you won." Iris pointed a finger at her.

"How did she know about that?" Phillip wondered.

"And you, my eternal rival Jude, we will see who's evaluation is better this year." Cilan pointed at Jude.

"Ok, we get it." Ash interrupted.

They turned to see Ash, and Iris was thinking, 'Wow, since when do we have a hot guy like that in school?' However, Ash, having had enough, slammed the door on them, and sighed. "Who wants to get our dinner?"

"I'll go. I need the trip to the bathroom." Rosaline volunteered, and left the compartment. She returned ten minutes later levitating the dinner behind her.

As they ate, they could see they are approaching PAL region. They had privately agreed it'll be nice to move to PAL someday when they graduate.

After dinner, they decided to take a nap until midnight, not bothering to change into their pyjamas. They pulled the cushions of the seats, which revealed a bed as well.

"Well, goodnight." Ash bade his friends, and heard them murmuring "goodnight" back.

Ash let the train rock him into oblivion, and he drifted off to sleep….

"Come on, Ash get up. We're reaching school soon." A voice said. He woke up to find Amethyst was shaking him. Apparently, she was the first to wake up as the other were still stretching, and yawning.

"I could do with more sleep." Phillip yawned.

"You'll get it once we reach school, and we get to our dorms." Amethyst replied, as they removed their luggage, set the couches, smoothed their clothing, and waited as the train slowed into Koulutus City train station, and their school is located just across the station.

* * *

The dorm building was where the students stay during the school term. There are three different buildings, one for Elementary Division, one for Middle School Division and one for High School Division. The system for all the buildings is all the same: lower Star ranked students stay on the lower floor, where all the smaller rooms are, while higher Star ranked students stayed in much bigger rooms and better accommodations.

Ash and the other students filed into the dorm lobby and onto the elevators. The elevators stopped at every floor to deposit the other students, before he found himself alone with Amethyst, and they walked to their rooms together, since they stayed on the same floor.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Amy." Ash greeted, as he, Pikachu and Lucario reached the door with his name on it.

Amethyst nodded, and Ash entered his room, closing the door behind him.

His room consisted of a bedroom, a dressing area, and private bathroom with hot and cold running water. There are also so many automatic gadgets in his room as well. The shower alone has a panel with more than a hundred options he can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils and massaging sponges. When a person steps out on a mat, heaters come on that blow dry his body. Instead of struggling with knots in wet hair, one can just place his hand on a box that sends a current through his scalp, untangling, parting, and drying his hair almost instantly.

The windows also zoom in and out on parts of the region at his command.

There is also a desk with a comfy roller chair (with great lighting), TV and computer with fast Internet Connection. There is also a place where you can place all your Pokéballs. There was a kitchen as well, though he rarely used it, except for feeding his Pokémon.

Ash took a quick shower, and changed into his pyjamas at last. He bade goodnight to his Pokémon, and fell fast asleep.

* * *

Ash dressed in a dark blue shirt and jeans, wearing his school blazer over it. He also pinned his Student Council President badge on his chest, and his Star Rank is represented by one pin on the collar: a single star enclosed in a circle. His Pokémon were all let out, eating breakfast.

"Ok, let's go." Ash swung his bag over his shoulder, as he returned all his Pokémon (except Pikachu and Lucario). They nodded, and followed him out, meeting his friends on the way down. When they reached the hallway to get their books from their locker, they were greeted by the morning din.

Combination dials spun. Locker doors slammed. Girls who hadn't seen each other since school ended last spring let out piercing shrieks and hugged one another. Guys high-fived other guys. Pokémon were outside talking to each other. Teachers stood in doorways, clutching steaming mugs of coffee and gossiping with other teachers.

"Well, let's get to our lockers. See you all at the welcome back convocation?" Jude asked. The others nodded, and separated, as all their lockers are at five different points. In fact, when you mark their lockers from an aerial view, it forms either a pentagon or a star. Of course, what the other students do not know is that, their lockers have a doorway that leads to the PAL Anonymous Headquarters, which is where they answer their questions once a week.

As Ash got closer to his locker, avoiding a Shinx that was running in the corridor, everyone was shocked into silence at his new look, and whispered about the new guy. Even Lance and his friends, whose lockers are across the hall from his, were also staring at him, wondering who he was, and how he got a locker so fast as a new student.

"I'm hurt you do not recognize your own classmate, Lance." Ash remarked, as he got to his locker, and twisted the combination.

"Ash?" Lance was surprised.

Lorelei was astonished as well. "How….what…." She was stunned at his new look.

"Ash became hot over the summer." Karen said in awe, as Ash took the books he needed, and stored those he didn't need.

Just then, the bell rang, and Ash slammed his locker door. "Well, see you at the convocation." With that, he hurried down the hall.

* * *

"This is so lame." Jude muttered, as they started for their traditional seats at the front row of the auditorium. Everyone was staring at them, muttering comments like, "Merman Jude looks as cool as ever" or "Fiery Phoenix Rosaline is cute as always,"

"Jude, you're an ExCo member of the Student Council, set an example." Phillip warned.

"Where's Ash and Amethyst, though?" Rosaline asked. The other two shrugged, as they sat down, leaving two spaces for their friends. Vice-Principal Goodshow was trying to get everyone to settle down by saying, "Settle down people. Now, people. Please settle down." over and over again in the microphone. The friends watched as the other students poured in, and the seats around them (except for the two seats they booked) are slowly being filled by the other fairly popular students. And then, just before the bell rang, in came Ash and Amethyst, and everyone was staring at the Academy's Champion (Ash) and the Academy's Princess (Amethyst). Many girls were admiring Ash's new look, and commented how he got hot.

The two of them were greeting the other students who kept shouting hello to them, the way a bride and groom might smile and nod at people assembled for their wedding, or a king and queen might nod to their populace. Which is, in a way, true: They are the king and queen of the school. No matter how much some students might not like to admit it.

"Thanks for saving us a seat." Ash said, sitting down with his friends.

"No prob." Rosaline replied, as Principal William Anderson walked up to the microphone, and the chattering hordes fell silent. Everyone is afraid of Principal Anderson as he can be extremely scary if he wanted to. In fact, there was a rumour that he practices throwing knives in his office, regardless if someone is in the office or not.

Principal Anderson started his welcome speech- "Welcome, students, to another school year at PAL Academy." and Ash half listened to it, because it was almost the same every year, but he needed to look like he was paying attention, to live to his new title. After that mind-numbingly boring speech on how they should use the coming year to realize their full potential, Vice-Principal Charles Goodshow read of the highlights of the student code of conduct: no cheating, no violence, no harassment of any kind (includes Pokémon), or they would be expelled immediately.

Finally, after Charles noticed the place was alternatively looking at the clock and longing for it to be lunchtime, or sleeping, he finally said, "And let's have our new Student Council President say a few words. Please welcome, Ash Ketchum!"

Ash started, as there was thunderous applause as he made his way up to the podium, his speech in hand. He had to adjust the microphone to his own height after the diminutive Charles Goodshow stepped away from it, to amused chuckles from the student body. Anyone could tell by the whispering from the girls that they wanted him.

"Good morning to Principal Anderson, Vice Principal Goodshow, teachers, and my fellow students. It's an honour to be standing right here in front of you all as your new Student Council President. And…" He was cut off by more applause and cheering.

"But to me, being the new Student President is not just about the authority granted. It's also about the huge responsibility I'm ready to take up, as the Student Council takes care of the upcoming events, and they must make sure that the events go smoothly, the problems that may arise around school, and deal with the feedback of the students, and the last decision would lie in me, the President."

Ash hesitated a little when he saw all of them staring at him, hanging on his every word.

"Go, Ash." His friends whispered.

"As the President, he or she is the voice of the students, not the voice of himself or herself. And I am very sure everyone in the Student Council knows this as they applied to be the new President. Am I right?"

There were more cheering, mainly from the other members of the Student Council.

Ash smiled. "I am grateful to the teachers that had ultimately chosen me. I realized a few factors last year, where we only went ahead to organize events, and since it was at the last minute, we didn't spare time to what you have to say, and thus you didn't enjoy the events and I am deeply sorry for that."

Some people shouted, "It's ok."

"I want to get to understand all you students, not just as classmates, but as people. I know PAL Anonymous helps you all out with problems, but if you need a listening ear, we will always be here for you. From tomorrow on, a Feedback box and Suggestion Box would be opened for students to give their opinions on how the Council is running and how to improve them, and suggestions on organizing the upcoming events would be welcome."

There was murmuring among the students.

"And I hope, that this year, we will be able to work together, as no matter our Division, no matter our level, we are still one school: PAL Academy. Thank you."

The applause continued long after he's done, and he waited until they finished before he said, "Now, I would like to call upon the new Vice-President to lead all of you to the school song. Would you all please stand?"

Amethyst took her place next to Ash, to whistles and cheers, as the whole school stood up, and started singing the school song, as Amethyst started to conduct with her left hand:

"Hail alter mater P-A-L

May you stand like an evergreen

To spread knowledge and

Develop talents

To teach the ways of trainers

And make us see

The importance of respect

For others the friendship and love

Of our Pokémon, we'll never forget

The advice of friends and teachers

We'll be sure to remember

With you, we march

Forward courageously

With time

We progress together zealously."

As the last note was sang, Amethyst made a zipping motion, signalling the end of the song.

Then the bell rang, signalling lunchtime.

 **BP: I know, it's bad, because I sort of had to think a long time about the school systems and the CCAs available, and if a Gym Leader, Elite Four and Champion should be a student or teacher, especially those adult and middle aged ones (some are simply too old to be a student). Sorry if Ash didn't look like his normal self, since I explained in the story how he lost his birthmarks and his skin losing the tan.**

 **Don't worry, I will explain the school system as the story goes on.**

 **For now, I have just one question.**

 **What pairing do you hope to see here? (Yes, you can tell me who you ship the five characters with, but just no harem)**

 **Please Review this story and tell me what you think!**


	2. Lunch, choosing our committee, CCA

**BP: Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows for the chapter! I was running out of ideas for Indigo High, but I'll try my best to update as soon as possible, alright? For now, my priority is finishing the first chapter of my upcoming resurrection fic, called The (unlikeliest) Second Chance at Life. Of course, all characters from Pokémon: The PAL Chronicles would return in this story, but pairings may vary.**

 **I know, the Star Ranking doesn't seem fair, but it is given depending on their grades, contributions to the school, and good behaviour, among other things, so that is why the Advanced Programme students is typically a Triple, Intermediate a Double, and Beginner a Single. No Stars are generally the younger kids and new students in the school, so they are not treated worse because of their low rank. So the older students do at least have a Single Star rank (except Morgan)**

Everyone took off for lunch, including Ash and his friends, who complimented him on the speech he had just made, which Ash accepted with a modest "Thanks."

"Should we go to the dining hall for lunch now?" Jude asked.

The others nodded in agreement, and made their way to the school dining hall. Amethyst volunteered to get a table, while the other four took out their wallets containing their School I.D. medals along with their respective I.D. cards. The I.D. card has the student's I.D number, and their current Star Rank. They needed it in order to get their assigned amount of food according to Star Rank. And as usual, they got very large food portions (but Ash got the most, and Amethyst would as well if she gets her lunch later), and got a cup with their Star Rank printed on it to get drinks from the drink dispenser. As usual, the cup size depended on Star Rank.

They went to look for Amethyst, who snagged a table that was near the door.

"You should go get your food now." Rosaline said. "We'll wait here for you. We eat together, remember." Good thing lunch lasts one hour, as they would need that time to go somewhere to feed their Pokémon. Amethyst nodded, and went to get her food.

Amethyst got her assigned amount of lunch from the caterer and her cup as well, but on the way back, she heard a very snobby voice say, "Hold it, retard."

Amethyst turned to see a hooker-like blond girl with the typical school cardigan over her outfit, but she wore it without buttoning it so Amethyst could see what she was wearing- a top that showed off her cleavage, and she wore the skirt so short she might as well be wearing only underwear. Also, she only had one star pinned to her collar cuff. Amethyst could tell by her dressing she was the type to get a new boyfriend every two weeks, and dumping them a week later. Oh great. It was one of the school's bullies, Canis Meretrix, who constantly terrorized her. Amethyst's Sylveon growled at the sight of the girl.

Canis was one of the vain ones, thinking she was better than other people, and even mocking those that are better than her. Sure, she is rich, but anyone knows that money cannot buy popularity in PAL Academy. The problem with this girl is, even if you try to avoid her so no trouble would be caused, she would purposely come closer to you to start trouble. Also, she never learns her lesson. Her favourite bullying victim was her, as most of her bullying incidents involved her. She had the brains for a double star, but because of her horrible attitude her star count decreased.

An example of her coming closer just to start trouble would be this one time where she and her cronies ambushed Amethyst on her way to P.E (Physical Education) Class (they came from all directions so she couldn't run) and surrounded her as they threw really hurtful insults the rest of the way. After this incident, they were in detention for three days, but they never learnt their lesson.

"Can I help you, Canis?" said Amethyst, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes you can." Canis said while pointed her manicured finger at her. "You can give me your lunch and you cup, and get off your seat in the cafeteria so that I can sit with your group. You don't deserve that place anyway."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "And if I refuse?"

"If you refuse, then…" Suddenly, she was surrounded by her minions, and as they were about to pull at Amethyst's hair, she took the opportunity to shoot at them with her Idiot Gun, an invention that she specifically used for idiots like her. It won't kill, but it'd do a lot of pain to the target. She then turned and walked away once they were down.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, you retard! A normal person is talking to you!" She then picked up a small bowl of mashed potato from the nearest student's bowl, and threw it at Amethyst.

Sylveon, however, had other ideas. Her tail turned a metallic colour, showing she was using Iron Tail, and swung it at the bowl of mashed potatoes, hitting it back and having it splatter in her face, making her fall on her butt to the floor.

CLICK!

Canis wiped the mashed potatoes away from her face, revealing a very angered expression, only to see Jude with a camera. Apparently he had taken a picture of her humiliating experience.

"That wasn't very nice, Canis." Ash shook his head. "Bullying people like that. I thought you should know by now that Amy is way better than you." He turned to glare at her minions, and they scampered away, leaving Canis behind.

'Traitor!' Canis screamed in her head.

"Yeah, we were thinking what was taking Amethyst so long, only to see this scene." Rosaline said.

"B-b-but I was teaching her to know her place," She said seductively to Jude. "You believe me, right captain?" Unfortunately for Jude, she was a member of the Cheerleading Club.

"I think you are the one that needs to learn your place." Jude replied, glaring at her.

"But why would you sit with a violent person like her? She shot at me with her gun!" Canis wailed.

"Well, I am not surprised she did that." Phillip said.

"I am way prettier and smarter that anything you will ever get! Look! You can ask anyone. You are supposed to be friends with me. Not that piece of trash that got a Special Star Ranking due to seductive means. She-"

Canis was cut off when Amethyst shot at her with her Idiot Gun. "Shut up. You are adding to the noise pollution in the cafeteria."

Ash noticed the crowd gathering during the confrontation. "What are you all looking at?" he snapped, and they backed off back to their lunches. He noticed Makoto was staring at the scene in the way he does when he witnessed something that would be good for the school paper, since he is the captain of the Newspaper Club. Ash wasn't particularly worried, because the students running the school paper were honest and they write articles like it is, and they never exaggerated or lied. If they did, Makoto would have kicked them out in an instant, in addition to Principal Anderson giving them detention.

"Come on, let's go." Phillip wrapped an arm around Amethyst, as they headed back to their table, where Amethyst added her own dishes. They were given so many dishes for lunch (thanks to their high Star Rank) that although their round table is supposed to fit up to ten people, they had to spread out in order to be able to sit in front of their own lunch.

"Well, let's eat." Ash shrugged, and they began their lunch, which was of course, delicious.

"We have class after this, right? Man, I can't believe we have to vote for the members of the Class Committee again." Rosaline sighed.

Ash nodded in agreement but couldn't say anything as there was food in his mouth.

"Trade my chicken for your croquettes?" Amethyst asked Jude.

"Sure." Jude shrugged, as they swapped food.

Rosaline was drinking her soup, and said, "Anyway, this morning, I heard our classmate Steven Stone rejecting a girl, before we came to the auditorium. Says he likes girls that plays hard to get."

"Really? That's new. I thought he liked a woman who knows her place, like Grimsley." Ash said. Grimsley was a student in HSD (High School Division) AP (stands for Advanced Programme) Class B, which was just a class behind Ash and his friends, who was in Class A, and the best class. He was a typical bad boy, and they first heard of him when last year, Rosaline punished him by taking two stars away for a week for gambling in school. He held a grudge against her ever since.

"Well, that's true." A suave voice said. The five turned to see Grimsley and his group of friends, Shauntal, Marshal and Caitlin.

"Oh really?" Amethyst finished her croquettes, and she stretched, drawing everyone's gaze to her chest. "And what place would that be, Grimsley?"

"Uh…" Grimsley stuttered. "Any…place….you want. At all."

"As usual, can't resist a girl's charms." Rosaline muttered darkly.

Grimsley glared at her. "I still haven't settled my score with you for last year."

"Still holding a grudge I see? Well, do your best this year. I have the type disadvantage and yet I still can win you. Oh, Caitlin." She turned to the Psychic Club's vice-captain. "We'll be having a meeting for the upcoming CCA Open House along with the other Committee members after our next session. Pass the message to the other members, please."

Caitlin nodded, and they all left, dragging Grimsley with them.

Phillip went, "Oh, hey, Aria." and they turned to see the Vice-Captain of the Pokémon Showcase Club, Aria, a student from the HSD IP (Intermediate Programme) Class A, which meant she was a Double Star, standing next to their table. However, she was not alone, as behind her was an entire group of girls who were currently giggling and gossiping, which didn't surprise anyone as being the Vice-Captain of the Pokémon Showcase Club, Aria was a somewhat popular student in PAL Academy.

"What is it?" Amethyst asked her Vice-Captain.

"Oh, I thought I just stop by and tell you about a wandering Eevee in this school." Aria said, taking a chair that was next to Amethyst's.

"And what about it?" Amethyst asked.

"Like, it goes around eating our homemade Poképuffs. I hear it didn't like all the Poképuffs it ate so far." One of her girlfriends interrupted.

"Uh-huh." Amethyst nodded. "Why didn't any of you catch it?"

"Some of us tried to catch it but it was too fast." Another girl from Aria's entourage said.

"Also, some others tried to befriend it, since judging by the size, it's a baby Eevee, just hatched from an Egg, but it gets bored easily. Bites people as part of defence too, if they try to grab it." A third girl explained.

"Did it eat your Poképuffs?" Amethyst asked Aria.

"Yeah. It didn't like it, as it didn't eat anymore after it ate one. I tried to capture it, but ended up catching my own Poképuff. It bit me too." Aria sighed, holding a bandaged finger. Amethyst considered healing it, but decided against it, as the wound looked very minor. "It's probably wandering around school looking to eat the next person's baked goods."

"Well, this Eevee better not eat my Poképuffs, or any of my baked goods." Amethyst said. "I'd better watch out, later it'll come and eat mine. Thanks for the warning."

* * *

Ash and his friends were gathered in their assigned classroom after lunch, chatting and deciding where they should sit. They closed the door and windows as the air conditioner was on. As there were 30 people, the class tables were arranged in 5 rows and there were six tables in each row, which means there were three pairs of tables in each row, as everyone usually sat in pairs.

Ash chose to sit with Amethyst at the last row which was in the middle column, Jude and Phillip took the seats just next to the front door, and Rosaline chose the middle row seats next to the windows with Lucian. Akira and Ryoko were sitting at Ash's left, and to Amethyst's right was Lance and Lorelei. They were sitting behind Diantha and Cynthia.

Right as they chose their seats, their English teacher, Miss Davis, entered the classroom, carrying a huge package. She was around her early thirties, and was pleasant to be around, and very witty as well, always having good comebacks and making jokes. However, she was strict when it comes to homework, often punishing others by taking one star for a week if they do not do their homework.

"Good afternoon class. This year, I will be your form teacher as well. I look forward to be working with you this year." Miss Davis said, smiling. "I will be taking attendance, and when I call your name, please respond." She took the register list, and started to read out the names.

"Amethyst Paradinight?" Miss Davis read out, after reading the third student's name.

Amethyst silently held up a hand.

"Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum?" Miss Davis read out next.

"Here." Ash raised his hand, as Miss Davis marked him, and went on to the next student.

"Jude Harrison?" Miss Davis read out 10 names later.

"Here, miss." Jude raised his hand.

"Phillip Robinson?" Miss Davis read out 4 names later.

"Here." Phillip said.

"Rosaline Pyra?" Miss Davis said 5 names later.

"Present." Rosaline replied.

After the attendance was taken, Miss Davis started to rip the paper from the package she was carrying. As she did this, she said, "I'll now hand out your school handbooks, please use them well." She placed the handbooks on the front of each row so that the students can take one and pass.

Ash received his handbook, and realized this year, they are using the pictures of various students receiving awards in front of the whole school during the Speech Day cum Award Ceremony, which included the five of them.

"Well, now, it's time for voting for our Class Committee!" Miss Davis interrupted his train of thought. "I say we first tackle the Chairman and Vice-Chairman post, and nominate six people for the both posts, and whoever has the most votes would become Chairman, and the person coming in second would be Vice-Chairman." She went to the white board and wrote the following:

Chairman:  
Vice-Chairman:  
Treasurer:  
Secretary:  
Discipline I/C:  
Cyber Wellness (IT) Ambassador:  
Regional Education Committee:  
Reading Ambassador:  
Sports & Wellness Ambassador:  
Publicity Ambassador:

"Now, everyone, nominate your candidates for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman post!" At her cue, everyone started shouting names, and Miss Davis had a hard time keeping track of who said whose name.

In the end, the six candidates turned out to be Ash, Amethyst, Ryoko, Lucian, Akira and Lorelei. The six of them had to go out of class while the rest voted (so as not to cause hurt to the candidates should they only have very little votes). They left, taking their Pokémon with them.

"This is stupid." Ash muttered to Amethyst, scratching his Pikachu's ears. Amethyst nodded, agreeing with him, as they loitered outside the classroom next to the stairs. Lorelei and Lucian were talking about a common book that they liked.

"Hey, Akira, Ryoko, did you make it to the Student Council Committee?" Ash took the opportunity to ask the two of them, who were members of the Student Council like him.

Akira shook his head. "Yeah, I am the new Head of the Middle School Division. Ryoko didn't make it, though."

"But at least we get a badge too." Ryoko showed her badge to them that said, "Senior Councillor."

"Well, better than nothing anyway." Ash shrugged. "So, who are the Heads of the Elementary and High School Division?"

"Naoto and Makoto respectively. Tenma is now Student Welfare I/C." Ryoko answered. "So, Ash, did you know you are even more popular now that you became hot? And here I thought you are already the most popular boy in school."

"So I heard." Ash replied dryly, just as the door opened, and Miss Davis said, "Alright, voting is done, you all can come in."

As they took their seats, they read the board. It said:

Chairman: Ash  
Vice Chairman: Amethyst

The rest were still empty.

"And let's give a round of applause to our new class Chairman and Vice-Chairman! The A-Team!" Miss Davis said cheerfully, as the class cheered, and some laughed at the teacher's nickname for the pair.

"That was unexpected." Ash said.

" **Hey, it's natural for you to get the most votes, you're the most popular boy in school."** Lucario said.

Miss Davis continued the voting for the other positions in the Class Committee, and as usual, the candidates went out while the rest voted.

In the end, this was the final list of the Class Committee:

Chairman: Ash  
Vice-Chairman: Amethyst  
Treasurer: Steven  
Secretary: Diantha  
Discipline I/C: Cynthia  
Cyber Wellness (IT) Ambassador: Phillip  
Regional Education Committee: Ryoko  
Reading Ambassador: Rosaline  
Sports & Wellness Ambassador: Jude  
Publicity Ambassador: Lorelei

"Everyone happy with their new Class Committee?" Miss Davis asked. The class nodded, just as the bell rang.

"Alright, then I'll let the new Chairman have the class diary, and he can record the list. Thank you, class!"

"Thank you, Miss Davis!" The class chorused, as they bowed to her, and she left.

"And it's time for us to take care of the class while we wait for the next teacher." Ash informed Amethyst, who grumbled, and stood up with Ash to take care of the class. Amethyst heard Lance and Lorelei talking, and waited before suddenly saying, "You know, I don't want to hear your wedding vows to the girl you want to marry, keep quiet and do your work." Which scared Lance and Lorelei.

"How was she able to hear us? She was all the way at the front." Lorelei whispered.

Lance wasn't listening as he was staring at the Vice-Chairman.

Ash, meanwhile, was staring at two girls who were chatting away, and one of them spotted Ash staring at them, and was signalling the other girl who was still chatting. She looked up as well, saw Ash, and covered her mouth with both hands. Ash made a quiet motion, and the girls sheepishly nodded.

"Could you check if the teacher is coming?" Ash asked. Amethyst nodded, and opened the door and looked down the corridors.

"He's at the end of the corridor." Amethyst replied, closing the door.

Sure enough, a minute later, the door opened and their Elementary Mathematics and Additional Mathematics teacher, Mr Kevin, came in.

"Class stand." Ash commanded, and the class obeyed.

"Good afternoon class." Mr Kevin said.

"Good afternoon, Mr Kevin." The class chorused.

"Please take a seat." With that, the class sat.

"Now…could the IT Ambassador help me set up the screen, please?" Mr Kevin requested. Phillip obliged, as he helped set the projector, and connect the teacher's laptop to the screen. He then reached for the string to pull down the screen.

"Since it is the first day, I believe we should make our goals first. And this year, I want all of you to average a B for your Additional Mathematics and I want an average of an A in Elementary Mathematics." Elementary Mathematics is supposedly easier than Additional Mathematics, but however, when it comes to solving problems, Additional Mathematics (A Maths for short) always had a fixed solution and a fixed method. E Maths? Not so much. Which is why those whose style is memorising does better in A Maths than E Maths.

Mr Kevin proceeded to show them the performance for their Final Exam last year, and of course, for being the top class, their performance was disappointing. Half the class got a C for their A Maths, some even failing, while for E Maths, a quarter got a C+.

Ash looked at his own results impassively. He had an A for A Maths while an A+ for E Maths. Phillip and Amethyst had A+ for both (of course), Rosaline and Jude had A for both as well. Their performance is not disappointing, but it was just the others that brought the class average down.

"I think we should start a peer tutoring system after the common test, where classmates who scores an A and above tutor the weaker students." The girls and boys who weren't so good began staring at Ash and his friends, hoping to get them as their tutor.

"Ash, Amethyst, Phillip, Jude and Rosaline is exempted because their schedules ae very full from their many clubs." Mr Kevin went on, as the class groaned. They were hoping that with one-on-one interactions with them with this tutoring, they might be able to score a date with them, and Mr Kevin just burst their bubble by saying they were exempt due to their participation on many CCAs. "Anyway, we will start this only after the common test. Now, take out your E Maths textbooks and we'll start on the topic called simultaneous questions."

While they were working on the questions give, Mr Kevin asked if anyone had gone out for a part of the musical My Fair Lady. He then said, in a way he does when he gets excited about something, "You know who would make a good Eliza Doolittle? Amethyst, I think you would."

Ash and his Pokémon looked at one another. They already held auditions last spring, which she couldn't go because she had other commitments, and even if she did, chances are the male actors would try to kiss her as part of the 'audition'.

* * *

Gifted & Talented class is one class that is of course, for the gifted students in the class who has talents in other fields. This class allows students to develop their talent as they can do whatever they want or like during this class, as opposed to the other students who get Study Hall for the same period, where what they do is study.

The classroom is more like a Learning Center, where there are various stations set up for music, language, filming equipment, tools to get you started on your invention, tables and chairs for you to sit and write, painting supplies, and even a kitchen for those whose talents are cooking (though it was separated from the other stations)

All five of them got into this class, and as they entered, the other people in this class was already doing various things like drawing, building some robot, playing a musical instrument, writing an article for the school paper, etc.

"Should we?" Jude asked, and the others shrugged, as they went to their stations. Amethyst was practicing her piano piece, Rosaline was drawing something, Phillip decided to build something, Jude decided to practice his acting skills and Ash decided to review the profiles of the mentees he was going to have this year for his Mentoring Club. The Mentoring Club was a society that aid academically poor students in either Elementary or Middle School Division.

Their aim was to motivate and share life experiences with the students so that they can grow their interest in learning and be enterprising contributors to society in future.

The types of activities conducted depends on which mentor was running the session but they always try to ensure that we have a good balance of work and play. The mentors are more than teachers. They are regarded as role models, friends and supporters to the mentees.

He looked at the information sent through the email (there were computers in the classroom) and filled in the information accordingly, blocking out the noises the musical instruments made or the smells of cooking coming from the kitchen. He heard Amethyst cuss as she pressed a key wrong while she was playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" and turned to frown at her, before turning back to his work.

Just then, there was an explosion, and one of the students were coughing. Ash turned, irritated, to see Clemont, a Double Star student in IP Class A, coughing as his invention exploded. As Phillip was next to him, some of the soot also got to him, and he was glaring at Clemont, irritated, as he wiped the ashes off his face. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they stared at the scene.

"You just have to, don't you?" Phillip said to Clemont, who gave him a sheepish look, and went to clean the mess up.

'At this rate they're going to kick him out of Gifted and Talented.' Ash thought, as he knew that it wasn't uncommon.

* * *

After the last class ended, it was time for their CCA. But Ash had to make a stop at the General Office to submit the Class Diary, before making his way to the meeting place of the Pokémon Conference Club, which Ash was a captain of. All of them were in the battlefields that the school had. Paul, the Vice-Captain of the Pokémon Conference Club, handed him the attendance list, which he took with a nod of thanks.

He sat at the bleacher taking attendance while watching the nearest battle, which was Pete Pebbleman, a Single Star student, battling Bianca, a fellow Single Star. Both of them had their Fire-types out, an Arcanine and an Emboar respectively.

"First to move wins! Arm Thrust!" Bianca commanded.

"Dodge with Extreme Speed!" Pete called out. The Arcanine managed to dodge it, and at the same time, hit Emboar with Extreme Speed.

"Let's use Flame Charge!" Bianca said, as Emboar managed to raise his speed with Flame Charge while damaging Arcanine.

"Aerial Ace!" Pete commanded.

"Counter with Flame Charge, once more!" Bianca pointed. Both attacks clashed, and there was an explosion.

"Time for our new move! Scald!" Bianca commanded. Emboar unleashed a very powerful Scald, which hit Arcanine. Arcanine struggled to get up, and that was when Ash raised his hand.

"Alright, that is enough. Both of you, take your Pokémon to the Academy's Pokémon Center nearby. Bianca, good job on the Scald move, though. If I hadn't stopped the battle, you would've won."

"Thanks, captain!" Bianca cheered.

"Pete, you might want to decrease the time you take to react to your opponents. Remember, even as attacks clash, your opponent may be able to attack. You never know."

Pete nodded, as they returned their Pokémon, and headed to the Pokémon Center building.

Just then, the door opened and Ash turned to see Cameron running in. He was a BP Class A student with the potential to be transferred to Intermediate Programme soon, and how he got in the best class (albeit being in Beginner's Programme) was a mystery to Ash.

"You're late." Ash said. "Explain."

"I'm sorry, I thought it starts at 4pm, you see." Cameron said sheepishly.

Ash sighed, as Pikachu and Lucario also face palmed. Cameron had always been notoriously bad at keeping track of time and numbers. However, his mistakes with timing pale in comparison to his mistakes with numbers. This actually affected his grades, for sometimes he was late for his exams.

"For the millionth time, it starts at 2pm, two!" He held up fingers for emphasis. "Got it?"

"Yes, captain." Cameron laughed sheepishly.

"Go put your bag in the bleacher and start training." Ash pointed, just as the door opened, and Trip came in.

"You're late." Ash said curtly. "Any explanations for this?"

"Yeah." Trip said with a swagger. "I've got cleaning duty to do."

"Right…." Ash mumbled. Cleaning Duty would never take half an hour to finish. Ash bet that it was just an excuse, and wondered if Trip did it on purpose to be what Jude would call "fashionably late".

Ash snorted inwardly at that thought. Even they, who are really busy, popular people that was held up with other business, they are never late for any CCAs, classes, or events.

"But let's get down to business." Trip said.

"What?" Ash asked.

"I want to challenge you for your captainship!" He declared.

Ash sighed. This had been happening for years, but yet Trip never won.

"I am pretty busy right now." Ash said. "Would a one-on-one do?"

"It will." Trip replied, as they found an empty battlefield, with Cameron as the referee. Pikachu and Lucario were on the side cheering for him.

"This would be a two-on-two…" Cameron was cut off by Paul saying, "One-on-one!"

"Ok, sorry. This would be a two-on-two battle between Trainer Trip and Captain Ash. Trainers, please send out your Pokémon."

"Serperior, go!" Trip sent out the final form of Snivy.

"Your Serperior has a good look about it, I'll give you that." Ash said. "Well, then, I'll go with a Grass Type too. Leafeon, go!" He sent out the Grass type Eeveelution.

"Alright, battle begin!" Cameron announced.

"Serperior, start things off with Leaf Storm!" Trip commanded.

"Leafeon, Sunny Day, followed by Dig!" Ash countered. Leafeon made the afternoon sunlight even harsher, as it shone down on the battlefield, and used Dig to evade Leaf Storm.

"Use Toxic into the hole!" Trip said, and Serperior shot it into the hole. Surprisingly, Leafeon didn't come out.

'What is he smiling about?' Trip thought, seeing Ash's slight smile.

"Now, Leafeon." Ash said, as Leafeon appeared, and attacked Serperior. Much to his surprise, Leafeon didn't seem fazed by the Toxic.

"How?" Trip wondered.

"My Leafeon's Ability is Leaf Guard. Leaf Guard prevents Pokémon from being afflicted by non-volatile status conditions and Yawn during sunlight." Ash explained. "Now, Leafeon, Leaf Blade!"

"Dodge!" Trip shouted. Serperior gracefully dodged the Leaf Blade.

"Nice speed." Ash complimented, and Trip growled at him.

"Serperior, Leaf Tornado!" Trip shouted.

"Iron Tail!" Ash countered. The Iron Tail destroyed the Leaf Tornado, and Ash called for a Leaf Blade, which Trip responded with a Dragon Tail.

"Energy Ball!" Trip commanded.

"Shadow Ball!" Ash countered. As both attacks met in the middle, Ash called out for an Aerial Ace, which was super effective on Serperior.

"Serperior, use Wrap!" Serperior proceeded to wrap its body around Leafeon and squeezing it.

"Leafeon, don't panic. Use Toxic." Leafeon managed to spray Toxic in Serperior's face, poisoning him.

"Now, Trip, are you sure you want to continue?" Ash asked. "Your Serperior is poisoned, and I know for one your Serperior doesn't know any moves to remove that status condition."

Tripe gritted his teeth, before finally shouting, "Serperior! Giga Impact!"

"Leafeon, Grass Knot." The Grass Knot made Serperior trip, making it crash to the ground.

"Now, finish it off with X-Scissor!" Ash called out. That move finally knocked out Serperior.

"Serperior is unable to battle! Leafeon wins! Which means, Captain Ash is the winner!" All the members cheered at the fact that their captain managed to defend his title.

"Well, Trip, better bring your Serperior to the Pokémon Center." Ash advised him. Trip glared but he made his way to the Pokémon Center to treat his Serperior.

"Ok everyone, show's over. Continue with your practice." Ash ordered.

He walked past Virgil training his Eevee. One thing unique about Virgil was his team consisted of the entire set of Eeveelutions (except Sylveon), which made everyone call him "The Eevee Trainer". While it's true Ash had the entire set of Eeveelutions like him, he was well-known for other things as well. Virgil was currently trying to train Eevee so she could evolve into a Sylveon.

"Oh, hey Captain." Virgil said, turning to face him. Ash raised his eyebrows when he saw Virgil's Star Rank.

"You're a Double Star now?" Ash asked.

"Oh yeah, apparently my grades were good enough to get in the Intermediate Programme. I went back to school to take another exam to determine which class I'd go, and I got Class B. They said they'd monitor my progress and if I'm good enough, I'll be in Class A!"

"Good for you. Congrats." Ash nodded.

"Thanks." Virgil replied. "My goal for now is to get into the Advanced Programme, and be a Triple Star student."

" **Oh! I hope you make it! You'd be the same level as the most popular group in school!"** His Eevee spoke up. However, only Ash understood what she was saying, but Virgil seemed to be able to sense what she was saying, as he replied with, "Yeah, me too."

"Are you going to get another Eevee once you've evolved her into Sylveon?" He nodded to the little Eevee on his shoulder.

"I don't know…maybe? That way, I'd have the complete set." Virgil mumbled.

"Well, this might interest you: The Vice-Captain of the Pokémon Showcase Club, Aria, told us about a wandering Eevee in the school. It goes around eating students' Poképuffs. If you're lucky, you might be able to see it and be given the chance to try and obtain it, but I hear no one has been able to catch it so far." Ash said.

Virgil looked thoughtful. "I'll think about it. Thanks Captain."

'I wonder how the others are doing at their CCA.' Ash thought, as he noted that he had to go for his Basketball CCA next.

* * *

"For the last time, we're here to practice the Butterfly stroke for the upcoming swimming contest, not to practice performing an underwater show!" Jude was shouting in exasperation at Daisy, Violet and Lily, who were also called the Sensational Sisters- or so they said. Misty was their little sister.

What usually annoyed Jude was they are more concerned with fashion, clothing, their appearance rather than actual battling or developing their Pokémon's moves when they were in the Water Club (Unfortunately for Jude, he had to put up with them since they were members of the Water Club as well)

"Sorry Captain, but this is one of the times we have access to the pool and we need new moves to attract crowds to our water performances, you know." Violet said.

"Can't you just get permission from one of the teachers so you can practice during your free time?" Jude snapped. If a student wanted to access a facility during free time, usually they needed note of permission from a teacher (this rule however, doesn't apply to those who are Triple Star and above, meaning they can use the facility any time)

"Like, we need the free time to rest up from doing our homework." Lily replied to Jude, who face palmed.

"Come on, Captain." Dorian, a fan of the Sensational Sisters, interrupted. "Let them practice, and their shows would be even better."

"I can't let them use CCA time as their leisure time to practice. That would be going against my Captain morals. If they don't have so much free time, then they should quit at least one of their CCAs." Jude said firmly.

"But we can't quit the Fashion Club!" Lily protested. "Those are our favourite times, wearing all those clothes that the Design Club made for us, and participating in fashion shows during CCA Open House or fashion competitions such as the Hearthome Collection!"

"I seem to remember that Amethyst beat you in that competition last year." Jude said dryly.

"Maybe we'll win this year!" Daisy added.

"Yes, whatever. Go back to practicing that stroke or I'll make sure you get kicked out of the CCA to concentrate on your studies, because from what I see, your grades need improvement. You too, Dorian!" Jude ordered. The three of them, with Dorian, sighed in disappointment, and went back to practicing their strokes.

"Misty, I said the butterfly stroke, not the breast stroke! Do you even know what the difference is?" Jude asked the girl near the edge of the pool.

"Of course I do! I've been swimming since I was young. Maybe you're the one who is wrong!" Misty snapped.

"I'm very sure if I chose you for a butterfly stroke swimming competition, we'd be disqualified." Jude replied. "First of all, we do not spread our legs as we swim for the butterfly stroke. The feet is supposed to move more like a dolphin flipper. Secondly, we do not push our hands forward and separate them as we swim in the butterfly stroke. Our arms are supposed to move forward and back. Third, we are not supposed move our arms then our feet for the butterfly stroke. It's all done at the same time. Then again, you should've done your research."

"You…!" Misty was about to get out of the water to give him a piece of her mind, when she hit her chest against the edge of the pool. She winced, as she clutched to her non-existent breasts to soothe the pain.

'Well then again, the smaller they are, the more sensitive, I guess.' Jude thought. He remembered one of his friends adding this fun fact at their PAL Anonymous. They usually liked to add fun facts to keep those people who surf their websites entertained. He knew Misty loathed being flat chested, often staring at other girls chest in envy.

Jude checked his watch. 'Well, I better get to Drama Club after this.' He groaned when he realized he had to deal with Morgan, as he was a member of that CCA.

* * *

"Your turn." Phillip offered to Tommy. The Board Games Club were meeting in one of the Innovation Labs where the cupboards store their board games. Also, there were plenty of tables and chairs and floor space for the members to play their games.

Phillip and Tommy were now playing a board game called Ghosts.

At the start of this game, both players are given eight ghosts, of which four are good (represented by a blue dot) and four are evil (represented by a red dot). The ghosts are assembled in two rows of four ghosts at the player's own edge of the board. At each of the four corners is an exit from the castle.

The idea of the game is that neither player knows which of the other player's ghosts are good and which are evil, as all ghosts would look the same while facing the front. The dots are located on the back. The players can arrange the good and evil ghosts in any formation before they start the game.

This game is turn-based. On his or her turn, each player moves one ghost one square, either horizontally or vertically. A ghost may capture an opponent's ghost by moving to its square. Only when a ghost is captured does the opposing player know whether it is good or evil.

If a player captures all four of the opposing player's good ghosts, he or she has won the game. But if a player captures all four of the opposing player's evil ghosts, he or she would lose. The game can also be won by moving one of the good ghosts through one of the exits at the opposing side of the board. The strategy of the game play involves mainly trying to guess which of the opponent's ghosts are which by their movement patterns and trying to fool the opponent with confusing movement patterns.

Currently, Phillip had two of Tommy's good ghosts and one evil, while Tommy had three of Phillip's evil ghosts and no good ghosts so far.

Tommy was looking at Phillip's remaining ghosts, and decided to capture the one on the far right. When he checked, much to his relief, it was a good ghost.

"Nice move. But it's my turn." With that, he decided to move one square forward.

Tommy decided to capture that one, and much to his chagrin, it was the evil ghost, which meant he lost the game.

"I was sure that was the good one. You were moving it towards my exit!" He knew another way to win was to move one of the good ghosts through the opponent's exit.

Phillip shrugged. He was always the master strategist. But he had to admit Amethyst could give him a run for his money when it comes to strategies.

"Well then, you should find another person to play a board game with you." Phillip said, as he moved on to supervise the others playing their own games.

Three of the students, Anita, Assunta and Thomas were playing Ludo. Phillip watched as Assunta managed to roll a five, the number of steps her final piece was away from her home column, and won the game.

"Argh! We lost!" Anita complained.

"Well, this game is all about luck, you know." Phillip said. "Besides, it's just a game. Maybe you guys can win next round."

"Captain!" The three of them were startled to see their captain behind them.

"It doesn't matter whether it's winning the game or losing. We're here to have fun, you know." Phillip swung a chair from a neighbouring table, and straddled it. The girls swooned as it was almost as if Phillip came over to their on purpose to speak to them. What sets him aside from other nerds is that he is a cute boy (and doesn't need to wear glasses, which puts emphasize on his blue eyes), and he was also sporty as well, which was why he was one of the most popular boys in school.

"Yeah, that's true." Thomas mumbled. "What do you all want to play next?"

"How about 13 Dead End Drive?" Assunta said.

Anita shrugged, and got the game board, and they began playing. They invited Phillip to play, but he excused himself as he noticed something. He walked towards Grimsley and some other students, and he sighed as Grimsley, his Vice-Captain, was betting again.

"Grimsley, you may be the Vice-Captain of this Club, but how many times must I say that you are not allowed to bet?" Phillip sighed.

Grimsley looked up from his deck of cards. "Come on, loosen up, Phillip. The teachers would never know."

"Oh, really?" A voice said from behind. Phillip and Grimsley turned to see Drayden, one of the advisors of the Dragon Club. He also teaches the MSD (Middle School Division for short) Classes Chemistry. Apparently, he was walking past and he had overheard. Phillip sneaked off as he heard Drayden berate Grimsley, and even giving him a detention, as he needed a drink.

The good thing is in the school, there are various vending machines that sells either drinks or snacks, so in case if a student wants something to drink or to nibble on, they can get from the machines which are located all over the school. In fact, there are convenience stores all around the school as well that sells food, drinks and snacks.

There used to be no limits on what a student can buy but ever since Morgan bought so much at one go the other students didn't have anything left two years ago, limits were put on the amount they can buy (as usual, dependent on Star Rank). That is another reason why Morgan was very unpopular in the school.

* * *

Rosaline was in the school library (which has four floors) helping to sort books in the shelves according to alphabetical order in the Fiction Section located at the very first floor. The Library Club members usually helped out in the library, but they also wrote about books that were recommended and post them either online or on the bulletin boards all over the school.

"Excuse me, can you help check these books out for me?" A voice asked. Rosaline looked up to see a pre-teen boy with a one star pinned to his collar holding a book out to her. He looked nervous, probably because Rosaline was part of the most popular group in school.

Rosaline thought this boy must be from the Middle School Division. The books he were holding was about all the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn Region (each regional Pokémon having one book to itself) Pokémon, their names, types, their movesets, and any Mega Evolution, if any.

"Sure." Rosaline took the boy to the checkout counter. "Could you just give me your Student I.D. Card?" The boy did, and Rosaline scanned the barcode in his card. Rosaline learnt that the boy's name was Joe.

"So, Joe, why are you checking these books out?" Rosaline decided to make some small talk.

"Well, I want to figure out how to take down each Pokémon." Joe replied.

"I would have you know, type match ups aren't everything. People can win even at a type disadvantage." Rosaline replied, as she scanned the books one by one.

"They can?" Joe was surprised.

"Don't be surprised. Even if the Pokémon have the type disadvantage, some of them may be able to learn moves that are super effective against Pokémon that have an advantage over them. Try to battle one of the captains of those Pokémon type clubs (with each Pokémon type having their own club), you'll get what I mean." Rosaline answered and pressed "Print Receipt" on the screen.

She tore it off, and handed the books and the receipt to Joe. "Here you go."

Joe took the books, and nodded. "Thanks a lot." Joe said.

"Any time." Rosaline waved, as she continued to arrange the books.

* * *

"Miss Valerie! Please use that move again!" The girls, who were members of the Fairy Club, was currently admiring the way she battled another member of the Fairy Club.

Valerie, a pretty Double Star student and also the Vice-Captain of the Fairy Club, smiled elegantly. "Mawile, finish it off with Fairy Wind!" She commanded. Mawile obliged, and sent a very powerful Fairy Wind towards the opponent's Cottonee, who was caught up in the Fairy Wind. When the move was over, it fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Cottonee is unable to battle. Mawile wins. Which means, the winner is Vice-Captain Valerie!" Kali, one of the girls who admired Valerie and is also the member of the Fairy Club, announced, since she was the acting referee.

"Good job, Mawile." Valerie returned her Pokémon. She turned to a bored Amethyst. "What do you think, Captain?"

"I've seen better battles than that." Amethyst muttered, while her Pokémon did not make a comment. Valerie gave a wry smile, while the other girls were dismayed at the lack of respect the captain was giving Valerie, but understood what she meant as they had seen the Captain herself battle before, and Valerie was actually nowhere near her level.

"I guess I have a long way to go to earn your approval, Captain." Valerie said politely.

"Do it as fast as possible, so I can give up this captainship." Amethyst mumbled, much to the shock of the other members. If Amethyst quit, the Fairy Club would be left without a star member, and this may affect their popularity of the club as well, since Amethyst is the most popular girl in school.

"I don't think we'd be happy if you left, Captain." Valerie said lightly. "You know I need all the help I can get, with my other commitments." This was actually true, as Valerie was also the new Publicity Ambassador of HSD IP Class B. In addition, she was also the Vice-Captain of the Design Club, and is the Secretary of the Fashion Club. However, this was very easy to handle compared to what the five of them had.

"And I don't have them?" Amethyst mumbled, petting her Skitty, who purred.

"Not all of us are as efficient as you when it comes to managing your time." Valerie laughed. "We all know you're the type to finish your holiday homework way before the holidays end."

'That's because to me, homework is to get away from my abusive family for a bit.' Amethyst thought, sighing, but she responded with, "Yeah, whatever." She turned to the group of girls.

"What are you all standing there, gaping about? This is the Fairy Club, not the Fan Club. Go back to your practice!" Amethyst ordered, as the girls scampered away to practice their Pokémon's Fairy-type moves.

"Shouldn't you be checking how your fans are doing?" Amethyst muttered at Valerie, who chose to sit next to her.

"Shouldn't you?" Valerie shot back.

Amethyst waved dismissively. "We all know the members here are big fans of yours, and they join because they want to learn under you."

"Not true." Valerie replied. "Everyone knows that you are much stronger than I am when it comes to battling with Fairy-types."

"If you say so." Amethyst muttered, as she took down notes of the current battle between Katherine and Blossom.

* * *

Ash was in a meeting with his Current Affairs Club members, where they discuss local and global issues, along with school issues as well. Today's topic was about the tutoring system the Beginner's Programme had in their school. Pikachu and Lucario were off to the side whispering about something.

"So, what's the news?" Makoto, the President of the Newspaper Club, asked Ash.

"Apparently, Cynthia reported that she saw a Middle School Division student named Joe being forced to run on a treadmill while his friends quizzed him on facts about Pokémon." Ash said. "Am I correct, Cynthia?"

Cynthia nodded. "That's right. We all know the MSD Beginner Programme students always try to aim for the Intermediate Programme, because they felt inferior to the other students in the IP or even the AP, so they help each other. But this…." She trailed off, as no words could describe what she really thought about this matter.

"Do you know who is in charge of this tutoring system?" A student asked.

"Usually, if I'm not wrong, top students would be the ones helping the one who are not so smart. So if we research who is the Top student of the MSD Beginner Programme, we can tell who the one in charge is." Ash concluded, just as there was someone shouting commands down the corridor.

"Man, they're noisy." Makoto mumbled.

"Cynthia, take over this meeting for a while. I'm going to check it out." Ash ordered, as he left the meeting room, Pikachu and Lucario following behind, and walked towards the school's battlefield. Sure enough, the Dragon Club members were meeting there, and they are practicing their moves.

"You know, we'd appreciate it if you'd keep things a little quieter." Ash said to Lance, who was the Captain.

" **Yeah, Ash was having a meeting, and we can hear you from all the way down there."** Pikachu frowned in disapproval. Lance did not understand what Pikachu was saying, but judging by the expression in his face, he had a good idea, as Lucario also had the same expression.

"I'm sorry." Lance said sheepishly. "I guess we got too excited."

"Looks like you got here before I did, Ash." A voice said. Lance turned to see Amethyst, who was also frowning, much to Lance's discomfort. Sylveon was also looking somewhat annpyed.

"Did they interrupt you too?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, they disturbed my Japanese Cultural Club meeting, which was held two floors above. We were practicing the procedures of their tea ceremony. The noise shocked one of my members into spilling her tea."

"I'm really sorry!" Lance apologized. "I-"

"So you came to visit, huh?" A voice asked.

"Iris." Amethyst said curtly. "No, we are about to leave, we just came to warn your captain about the noise you all are making, which disturbed our meetings."

"You can't leave just yet!" Iris said. "You'll have to battle me first!"

"All of us have CCA at the moment, so we can't afford to stay." Amethyst replied brusquely.

"Your members can wait for you." Iris said dismissively.

" **What a self-centred brat."** Sylveon muttered.

" **Does she really think Amethyst has to fit her in our schedule?"** Skitty wondered.

"Iris, she already said she doesn't have time." Lance said firmly. "Please do not waste her time by going into unnecessary battles."

"But I need her to battle so I can take away her title of being the strongest Dragon user!" Iris protested. "Besides, I just want to prove that just because she's born in the Dragon Clan doesn't mean she can strut around like she owns the school. There is bound to be someone better than her.

"Go back to practice. Now." Lance ordered, as Iris reluctantly returned to practicing her Dragon type Pokémon, but not before giving Amethyst an "I'll get you for this" glance.

"I can't believe she's behaving like this." Lance sighed. "I'm really sorry. I hope you don't take it personally or anything."

'Take it personally? I'd been spending the entire school life hearing about how wonderful my family must be to teach me well, and they don't even know what happens in my house. And here he is, with a wonderful family and even having a loving cousin in this school, telling me not to take it personally. Yeah, no problem, Lance. Whatever you say.' Amethyst thought, but she replied with, "Oh don't worry. We get that all the time."

When they left the battlefield, Amethyst mumbled, "Oh well, at least the noise is better than Poképuff making during Pokémon Showcase Club sessions. Arceus knows how many times Jessie has succeeded burning her creations, and making everyone suffocate from the smoke emitting from her oven."

Ash had to laugh at that remark.

* * *

After his Scouts meeting, Ash decided to head to his room for a shower before ordering dinner. Fortunately, dinner is provided either in the room or the dining hall. There was something like the Room Service for those who wants dinner in their room.

All the student needed to do was to press a button that was located near their bedside, and they would deliver meals (drinks included) to their room in actual dishes and cups and once the student is done, all the student needed to do was to place the dishes outside his or her door once they are done, and the cleaners would come to pick them up, which took recycling to another level. However, the amount of food delivered also depended on Star Rank.

On the way back to his room with his Pokémon, Ash saw an Eevee walking around the school, sniffing around, most likely for anyone who was making Poképuffs. He had to admit, the Eevee, looking smaller than the normal size, looked cute sniffing for its "favourite" baked goods, as it doesn't look at all like it would bite anyone or brush off any attempts of befriending it. Ash decided to leave it alone, since he isn't really looking to add another Eevee to his collection. Maybe Eevee itself would find a good trainer that knows how to handle this difficult Eevee.

He saw Phillip drinking a bottle of water, while holding his tennis bag. It was clear he had just returned from his tennis practice, judging by the sweat on his forehead. Pachirisu was sitting on his shoulder.

"Yo, how was CCA?" Ash came up to his friend and asked.

"Other than trying to get used to the fact that we'll have six hours of CCA every day? Not bad." Phillip replied, as he stabbed the elevator button. Classes usually end at 2, and CCA times can last until 8. Due to the fact that all five of them had a lot of CCA to go to, their last CCA would always end at 8 on weekdays. "How about you?"

"Probably feeling the same as you." Ash nodded. "By the way, I saw the wandering Eevee just now. It looks like it was looking for the next target who makes Poképuffs."

"Would Amethyst be ok? I mean, everyone knows she does make the best Poképuffs after all." Phillip said worriedly.

"Not only that, she makes great Poffins and Pokéblocks too." Ash added. "I just hope she keeps her eyes peeled for that Eevee, in case the Eevee starts targeting her Poképuffs. Earlier today, she told me she would make some more Poképuffs tomorrow, as we are running out of them." Ash informed his friend, just as the elevator appeared, and they entered.

"Oh yeah, our Pokémon is starting to get addicted to her baked goods." Phillip laughed, as they pressed their respective floor buttons. As the elevator moved upwards, Ash chatted with Phillip about what happened to them today, and bade goodbye to Phillip as the elevator stopped at his floor, before the elevator moved on to his own floor.

Ash peeled off his clothes, and took a hot shower, and changed into a blue shirt and black pants. He pressed the button to order dinner, as he let all his Pokémon out, and helped them set out dinner.

While waiting for his own dinner, he went to check his school email, and realized he had received one from Charles Goodshow, the Vice Principal. The email was a reminder to spread the word about arranging a Student Council meeting as they needed to find a way to raise money for the graduating class trip overseas.

Attached to the email was the list of current Student Council members, as during the summer, the teachers could've stripped students of their position without the others knowing, or they had quit of their own free will.

Ash noted that the teachers had removed Bruno from the list of Student Council members due to his exam results. They are also keeping an eye out for him when he is in class (He is from HSD AP Class C), and if he does not improve, one star would be taken from his ranking, and he would be transferred to Intermediate Programme.

One scary thing about this school is, they are strict about exam results, especially from the Advanced Programme, and should they fail, they would demote them to Intermediate or Beginner (for those who were from Intermediate Programme), and may even strip them of their captainship or Student Council position (if they have any). To say this was humiliating would be an understatement.

Ash decided to send a mass email to all his Student Council members, reminding them about a meeting that he decided to schedule two days from now after his last CCA, which ends at 8, and decided they could have dinner in the meeting room while they are at it. He made a mental note to inform the caterers of this arrangement.

Just then, Ash heard knocking, which meant his dinner was here, and opened the door to receive his food. He placed the dinner on his study table, as he had decided to eat while doing his homework, but before that, he served up Poképuffs for all his Pokémon for dessert. Ash retrieved his bag, and took out his handbook to see what homework he had, as he had scribbled them in his handbook.

He decided to tackle his Mathematics homework first, and took out the textbook and the worksheet he was given on simultaneous equations. He was eating dinner with his left hand, while reading the questions and writing down his solutions to the questions, making sure to show his steps clearly. When he is done, he moved on to the next homework.

" **What are you doing?"** Pikachu hoped onto the table to see what Ash was reading. It was a comic about a quiz master asking Iran, Palestine n USA to spell peace but Palestine spelled "terrorism", Iran spelt "occupation" instead while the USA spelled "hopeless" (Ash interpreted that as showing that the conflict is almost impossible to resolve, but as this was worth five marks, he needed to write the right elaboration as well, which required a bit of thinking)

"Essay." Ash mumbled, looking up the textbook for facts, while putting another spoonful of dinner in his mouth. "Go play with Lucario or something." He reached for another scoop, only to have his dinner taken away by Lucario.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Ash asked Lucario.

" **Do you know that people who eat while distracted like this consume more at the time, but later in the day, too?"** Lucario frowned in disapproval.

"Where did you read that from?" Ash asked.

" **From a magazine in the school library last year. Also, aside from the fact you would eat more, distracted eating also makes you less likely to remember how much you ate."** Lucario said. **"People who were able to recall memories of how much they'd eaten in a previous meal are less likely to eat as much later on, you know."**

"Alright, I get it." Ash sighed. "I'll finish my homework first, then I'll eat."

" **I'll go heat up your dinner. It's getting cold."** Lucario nodded, and took away his dinner to heat up in the kitchen, while Ash continued his homework, and only then did Lucario allow Ash to finish his remaining dinner. After dinner, he checked the clock, and realized it was already 10pm. He sighed, as he started to pack his bag following the timetable for tomorrow, and finish up the remaining admin stuff for his class and his CCAs.

He finally got to bed at 11pm. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he fell fast asleep.

 **BP: Of course, because I can't possibly write every day about what happened, I would skip over a few days every chapter. If you're wondering why Ash doesn't like his friends from the anime, it was because this story is somewhat a High School Version of the PAL Chronicles and the Dark Chronicles, but the difference being, instead of being backstabbed, they never liked each other to begin with. And because Ash had been in the top class for the entire time he was here, he never really interacted much with them.**

 **The five of them would have the Pokémon they have in the two stories (The PAL Chronicles and the Dark Chronicles) In addition, Amethyst would have her own Glaceon, as opposed to taking May's one.**

 **Initially, mysterypink98 wanted all the pairings to be the same, but as I read reviews from the first story, I realized that the readers do not like some of the pairings (such as Rosaline and Grimsley), and I admit that I do not like having to write about the same pairing all the time, and I told mysterypink98 same pairings for all stories are boring. I mean, without any variation for the pairings, I'm sure no one would like to read it.**

 **Oh, speaking of pairings, I got votes on Ash x Amethyst (Pakura). I just want to ask one question: Do you want them to be with each other, or do you want them to be with somebody else of your own choice?**

 **Another question would be: Who would you want to pair the other three (Phillip, Jude and Rosaline) based on reading the original and the second story? (Since Kalos people is included in this school fic, you can pair them with whomever you like, and that includes Ash and Amethyst, but just no threesome and above, I'm bad at those)**

 **Third question: Serena, Clemont and Bonnie will be inside as students. Who should side Ash and who should be with the traitors?**

 **And no, I'm not writing about JJM being good people or anything, because first of all, in the original, I only wrote it because mysterypink98 asked me to (she likes them, but I find them extremely annoying. Period), and of course, since I'm running out of ideas for them to appear in chapters for Season 2, they'll probably just fade in and out of the storyline even in the original.**

 **P.S: Sorry, I accidentally switched it with the AV chapter when I posted, and only realized it when I posted the chapter itself, so I immediately corrected it the moment I realized I posted the wrong one.**


	3. Student Council, the wandering Eevee

**BP: Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows for this story! Now if only I can find inspiration to finish the first chapter of the resurrection fic….Oh well, just to clarify, Pikachu and Lucario are Ash's strongest Pokémon in all three of the stories. He doesn't use them unless it's really necessary in this story, and he is saving them for the finals in the other two stories.**

 **For those who had read them and wondered why he haven't used them in battle, it's because he wanted to give ALL his Pokémon a chance to battle, so since I has the same team in both the first story and AV, I will use completely different Pokémon in battle in these two stories, with Pikachu and Lucario still having the finals spots.**

 **P.S: Forced to post again because I updated the wrong chapter when I corrected mistakes. And some idiot is looking to see what I was doing, so I was hasty and chose the wrong one. I am also half asleep so I wasn't very aware until it was too late. Ignore this chapter if you have read before.**

(A few days later, after CCA)

"Well, first of all sorry to bring all of you out so late." Ash said to the group in a meeting room, who was eating dinner, which indicated he was about to start the Student Council meeting. He was sitting at the head of the table, indicating he was to lead the meeting. Besides him was Amethyst, who was quietly sipping her grape juice.

"At least we got dinner." Tenma was munching on his mashed potatoes. The others mumbled in agreement, as they ate. There is something comforting about eating in an air-conditioned place which isn't crowded with people.

"Just don't spill any food or drink in the room." Ash sighed. "Oh, if you want to talk, please, do it when you swallow. Now, I'm about to begin the meeting, so listen carefully."

Everyone nodded, as they started to pay attention.

"As you all know, a few days ago, I have sent you all a school email, and the Vice-Principal wants all of us to find a way to save money for the High School Division graduating trip abroad, and to an extent, we'll need to fund for the CCA Open House as well." Ash reminded them.

"What email?" Jin asked, causing Ash to look at him incredulously.

"Are you telling me you didn't read the email I sent to your school email account?" Ash glared at Jin, who faltered under his gaze.

Jin laughed sheepishly, which lead the others to face-palm.

"Jin, the email was sent like three days ago. Are you telling me you never checked?" Ai, the Vice-Captain of the Red Cross Club, was raising her eyebrows.

"It's our responsibility to check the school email and school website every day, Jin." Akira was looking at him in disapproval.

"All our information are given via these two methods, you know." Ken was giving Jin a funny look.

"Yeah, we're sort of the adults in the school, no one should be babysat, and be spoon-fed the information." Naoto, the captain of the Fighting Club, Taekwondo Club, Judo Club, Ju-Jitsu Club, Muay Thai Club, Shitoryu Karate Club, and Wushu Club was frowning at him. He was one of the best at fighting, but for some reason, he was always beaten by Ash and Amethyst, despite them never having formally learned fighting techniques.

"Ok, sorry." Jin conceded. He did not want Naoto to be mad at him, for he knew he'd get a broken arm.

"Alright, never mind, as I said, we need to start saving for our graduating trip overseas, and fund for the upcoming CCA Open House as well for the new students." Ash said. "Now, I know that last year's batch made over 500,000 Pokédollars doing weekend car washes. The question is, are we going to do the same thing again this year?"

"Whose parking lot are we going to use this time?" Lance asked.

"The Chanel Shopping Complex located at Pierce City said we could use their parking lot again." Jude replied.

"I don't know, Ash, I was wondering if there isn't some other method by which we could raise funds to start our savings for our trip overseas and fund for the CCA Open House, other than car washes. I mean, some of us would prefer to keep our Saturdays free to do other stuff, such as catching up with our work and Pokémon training, especially us, you know…" Phillip was indicating the five of them.

There were murmuring from all over the meeting room, interrupted by the occasional chewing of the dinner.

"Phillip has a point. So, any ideas?" Ash asked the room in general, but none seemed to have a good idea. Amethyst, however, was unusually quiet, and Ash could almost see the gears working in her brain.

"Well, Amethyst?" Ash decided to interrupt her thoughts.

"I think…..Phillip has brought up an interesting point." Amethyst said slowly.

"Could you elaborate?" Rosaline asked. Everyone was leaning forward to hear what she had to say, causing Amethyst to start sweating at all the stares she was getting.

"I think we have a lot of very talented individuals in this room, and the school in general." Amethyst gulped at the intense gaze everyone had. "It seems shame to waste such talent, you know….maybe a good way to raise money would be to hold a student talent auction?" Amethyst suggested.

"Explain." Tappei said, not understanding what Amethyst was getting at.

"Students like Phillip, who is very good with technological stuff and at his subjects, can auction off few hours of free computer programming to a member of the community or offer tutoring for the subjects to the weaker students, or maybe Ash, captain of the Pokémon Conference Club, can offer to help train a prospective student's Pokémon, or even film a local television ad for a community business, since he is well-known in PAL due to his status. People would pay a lot for that." Amethyst was trying to tell them what she was thinking in words.

The other members of the Student Council now had thoughtful looks on their faces. What Amethyst said somewhat made sense.

"I say we give the students a chance to shine at what they're naturally good at, as opposed to some car wash, as we hear complaints on how it ruined the girls' manicures." Amethyst mumbled. "I'm not saying we shouldn't have a car wash in addition to this talent auction for the participation of those whose talents are less marketable than others….ok it's a lame idea, forget all that I said!"

"Says who?" Ryoko replied. "I think it's a great idea."

"Yeah, why are you not confident? I think it's very good too." Ran, Vice-Captain of the Contemporary Dance Club, DanceSport Club, Dragon and Lion Dance Club, and Captain of the Chinese Dance Club added. The others were nodding in agreement to their statement.

"Yeah, best idea yet." Ash said, smiling at Amethyst, who looked like she was unsure of what she had suggested. "So, Rosaline I'll count on you to design the ad to send to the local and school paper, and Makoto would help you print it on the school paper, Ryoko, I'll put you in charge of signing people up for that, Tenma, get bidding paddles for the auction, Cynthia, please recruit helpers for this event, Jin, I might need your Design Club's help in the decorations for the event. I'll make the announcement during morning assembly tomorrow to announce our decision for how we'll raise our money."

Everyone nodded when Ash assigned the tasks to them.

Ash looked at the clock. It was already half past ten. "Well, then, you all are dismissed. Make sure not to leave any rubbish behind, and please dispose your rubbish in the dustbin outside.

As Ash and his friends stepped into the elevator to get to their rooms, Jude said, "Well, Amethyst, I don't know why you're not confident of your ideas, they are all very good."

"I guess I'm not a confident person." Amethyst replied.

Ash noted that Amethyst wasn't looking at Jude as she said this. There is something definitely wrong, but what?

He snapped out of his thoughts as the elevator stopped at their floor and waved goodbye to Jude, Phillip and Rosaline, before he was left alone with Amethyst, and he found the doors opening to their floor.

"There is something wrong with you, and I know it." Ash spoke up.

Amethyst turned to face him, her expression unreadable.

"I don't know what you mean, Ash." Amethyst said smoothly.

"You're hiding something. I don't know what is it, but I will find out." Ash warned her.

"I would like to see you try." Amethyst's tone was neutral with a hint of challenge in it. She knew there was no way of him reading her mind to get the answer, as she had psychic shields to block all sorts of intrusion in her mind. She was also very careful as to not let anyone who enters her room to clean it to stumble upon her personal belongings. If they tried to touch it, they would be electrocuted on the spot.

Ash gave her a look, before entering his room to prepare for bed.

* * *

The next day, when Ash woke up, the Pidgeys were cooing away, and Pikachu and Lucario on the windowsill watching them. Well, at least he didn't need to hit the snooze button like seven thousand times before Pikachu gave him a Thunderbolt to wake up. He set up breakfast for his Pokémon as he went into the bathroom to refresh himself, before dressing in his uniform and grabbing his bag, and heading to the lobby, where his friends were waiting, and they headed to the dining hall for breakfast.

"I heard Cynthia has become more popular ever since she grew her hair long, and began developing around the chest area. Looked more beautiful, that was what some of the boys said." Jude said, starting the gossip, as the five of them ate breakfast at a long table they got for themselves. He took a glance over at the table where Cynthia was sitting with her friends Aaron, Flint and Lucian, with a retinue of her male admirers.

While it is true that anyone would kill just to sit with the five of them, no one dared to ask if they could sit as it's a hidden rule (at least to the entire school population): They can only sit if they are asked (or they give permission when they ask, but it's rare as no one had the courage to do so. Well, except one, but no one like him, as he's the most unpopular guy in school thanks to his attitude.) They had made these two rules clear ever since some….er, undesirable people tried to sit with them the last time.

"I doubt any of us go for looks." Phillip replied, indicating Ash, Jude and himself. "Some girls are good looking, true, but they have a black heart."

Ash nodded, as he started on his eggs. "Besides, why do we bother if we're not looking for a relationship now?"

"True. So I heard that Lt Surge, one of the Double Star students, got drunk during the summer holiday, and apparently jumped up onto the bar counter and sang "Milkshake" and tried to do a strip tease. Is that true?" Rosaline asked.

"Oh yeah. Apparently they went to the bar for Erika's eighteenth birthday, and they celebrated by having drinks." Ash nodded. "I bet Erika didn't drink any, she's the good girl type of person."

"What happened then?" Jude asked.

"Sabrina forced him out of a bar and into a cab with her telekinesis, and she and Janine sent him home." Amethyst replied, as everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, the Kanto and Johto clique were somewhat late for breakfast, and realized there were no seats left.

"I don't see any seats." Will said.

"Oh, there are seats over there." Bruno pointed at the table where Ash and his friends were sitting, and apparently gossiping about something, because they were laughing. As they were taking the long table, they had plenty of room left, although they were somewhat spread out.

"Are you crazy, Bruno? We can't sit there." Lance said. "Their table is like the royal palace. You only go there if you're invited or something."

"Why not? It's breakfast and I want to eat." Bruno replied. "Besides, I am sure you wouldn't want to pass up on the opportunity to sit at the same table with her." He nodded at Amethyst, who was quietly eating her hash browns.

"I…." Lance was at a loss of words.

"Besides, I hear those people have the hottest and juiciest gossip." Karen said. "Maybe when they talk, we can hear what they have."

"I'll go ask if we can take those seats." Lorelei announced, as she approached the table. As soon as she reached, the five of them stopped talking, and looked at her.

"Hello, Lorelei." Rosaline greeted.

"Hi." Lorelei smiled. "I was wondering….if me and my friends could sit here." She indicated her group behind her.

The five of them looked at each other.

"I don't see why not." Jude said. The others shrugged in agreement.

"They said yes." Lorelei announced to her friends, as they hastily saw down before the five could change their mind, and started on their breakfasts.

"What class do we have after this?" Ash asked his friends.

"Chemistry." Lorelei answered, before any of them even opened their mouth. The five of them turned to look at Lance's group, and they seemed to quell under their patronising gaze. For one moment, they thought the most popular group was going to give them a lecture about minding their own business, but they simply nodded, and turned back to their breakfast, continuing their conversation.

Will nudged Lance. "Hey, go for it. Talk about anything." He whispered, nodding to Amethyst, who was sitting diagonally across from him.

Lance sighed. The only things he and she had in common were the fact that they were Student Council members and they both train Dragon-type Pokémon. Other than that, not much as they had totally different CCAs and Amethyst even took foreign language classes (like the other four of her friends), which he didn't.

Lance mumbled something under his breath, which caught everyone's attention, including the five.

"Sorry? What did you say?" Phillip said.

"You see, he said he wanted to ask Amethyst something." Will answered, smiling.

"And what is it he wanted to ask?" Amethyst raised her eyebrows.

"Er….I…" Lance stuttered, faltering at the fact that everyone was looking at him expectantly.

Ash wondered if Lance wanted her to visit the Dragon Club again, and give some helpful tips and advices during practice, and maybe take part in demonstrations. Ash thought Lance was just wasting her time, as she isn't even a member of the Dragon Club, and she's much busier than he was, with all her CCA and her new position, in addition to the loads of homework teachers give them.

"I guess he wants to ask her about the Dragon Club." Karen commented.

"No of course not!" Lance spluttered.

"Then what do you want to ask?" Bruno asked.

"Well…." Lance can't even seem to say a word.

"I'm busy." Amethyst mumbled, as she drank her juice. "Besides, no offence Lance, I don't like the members there."

Lance grimaced, as it was well-known that Amethyst was the strongest Dragon Trainer in school, and she was constantly being dogged by the other Dragon Trainers, like his cousin Clair, challenging her for that title, which irritated her because they just couldn't see she had almost no free time at all.

"You guys better finish fast, we only have 10 minutes left before we need to get to morning assembly." Rosaline told them. The group looked down at the fivesome's trays, only to gape when the plates and cups are all empty, as the five of them grabbed their trays and bags, and left the table.

* * *

Ash and his friends were now sitting at their class-assigned places during morning assembly in the school hall, which is also known as reading period. They were supposed to read their books until the bell rings, and morning assembly would begin. As they were part of the HSD Advanced Programme classes, there were assigned places near the back and to the extreme right, only beaten by HSD AP Classes B & C (the school arrangement was divided into three sections: ESD, who sits on the left side of the hall, MSD sits in the middle, and HSD sits at the right side. The BP Classes sit in front, IP Classes sit in the middle, and AP Classes sit at the back)

Canis came in early, and seeing Ash and his friends, came up to them, and stood in front of them. More specifically, she was in front of Amethyst.

Phillip raised his eyebrows. "Meretrix, you're not supposed to be here, your class sits in front, you know."

Canis ignored him, and sat down in front of Amethyst, who ignored her. She learned over so that all her blond hair swished onto her book, and Amethyst was hit by a giant wave of perfume.

"Well, retard, aren't you going to say hello?" Canis sneered.

Amethyst was more ticked at the fact that Canis hair was blocking the words on her book, and moved her book away, and continued reading.

Canis turned, and swept her hair to make sure most of it was blocking the book again, but Amethyst slammed the book as hard as she could, which caused a lot of her hair to be trapped in between the pages her hair was blocking. Canis gave a shriek in pain, as the others looked amused.

A teacher, which happened to be Bertha, who teaches the ESD IP Classes Mathematics, came in just as Canis was shrieking.

"What now?" Bertha sighed.

"She slammed her book on my hair!" Canis stabbed an index finger in Amethyst's direction.

"I didn't know your hair was in my book. Why can't you keep your hair to yourself?" Amethyst shrugged.

"Yeah, besides, you're not supposed to be sitting here with us. Your class is way up front." Rosaline stood up for her friend.

Bertha looked somewhat bored. "Canis, if you can't control your hair, I recommend braids. And Rosaline is right. You're supposed to be sitting in front, not near them. Go to your class assigned place, please. And I mean now."

Fortunately, the other students entered at this time, and pushed Canis aside so that they could sit down. Some of them even glared at her for being in their way, since she was not supposed to be there.

"I am surprised she hasn't been expelled." Rosaline muttered.

"With attitude like that, she would be sooner or later. Principal Anderson only gives so many chances." Jude replied.

"Or she can be expelled if she continues to fail her exams, and not pay attention in class. This school doesn't tolerate failure by choice for long." Ash added. It wasn't that the school would expel them if they failed all subjects continuously, no, they expel the student if they failed all subjects, and was reported that they never paid attention in class. There is a difference between these two.

"The problem is, she is a smart person, but she's using it the wrong way." Phillip mumbled, just as the bell rang, and Ash and Amethyst made their way up to the stage to lead the school into singing the school song, before they go on to the assembly officially.

As one of the students (this week, it was Olympia), went up on stage behind the podium to read today's announcements, Ash was looking over his statement, making sure he did not miss out anything, and writing additional notes or cancelling with his pencil.

As Olympia read the last announcement, which was about students who wish to join the school team of their respective clubs must go to their captains for approval, she left the podium, it allowed Ash to take the stage, to numerous applause.

Ash did not waste his words, as he announced that the school would be holding a talent auction in order to raise money for the upcoming CCA Open House and start saving for the graduating trip overseas. He paused to let them discuss what a talent auction was, before he elaborated on what it was. As he spoke, the student looked interested, excited even, at the prospect of raising money with what they are naturally good at.

"And of course, if you would like to sign up, please go to Ryoko and add your name and the talent you want to auction off. Details would be given in the next school paper." With that, he stepped off the stage.

"That was an excellent idea, Ash." Principal Anderson said. "Students would have fun participating in this event. Who came up with it?"

"Amethyst came up with the idea." Ash replied.

William nodded in approval. "Keep up the good work. I can see the teachers made an excellent choice choosing you two to lead the Student Council."

Ash smiled, as he made his way back to his class.

* * *

Obesity was something the school wanted to prevent in the students, and most students had more than a few pounds to spare, and they all needed to exercise more and eat less snacks from the vending machines, which is why the school had PE (Physical Education) for every single class in the school.

But the troublesome part is, students had to change into their gym clothes during this period, and the school required them to not wear their gym clothes under their school blazers as it was against the rules, and also, they are not allowed to wear their gym clothes into air-conditioned places such as the library. Before the class, students were sent to locker rooms to prepare for gym class, and of course, as usual, the locker rooms were assigned based on Star Rank, but this time round, Special and Triple Star students share a locker room.

Which is why Amethyst and Rosaline were taking the lockers next to each other, and changing into their gym clothes in front of the other girls, which irked Amethyst because she had to strip down in front of virtual strangers. The others were staring at Amethyst's chest in envy, since she was very well-endowed.

Amethyst wasn't looking forward to this class. Not that she hated sports or anything, but the fact that she had to take this class with Miss Canis Meretrix was what peeved her, as she reluctantly left her locker room with Rosaline to gather with her class.

Canis, of course, was already on her mobile phone, the moment she saw her. "Shel? You're not going to believe this. You know sometimes we have shared classes during PE? Well, my class is now sharing with the Ret…"

Unfortunately for Canis, Mrs Chapman, their PE teacher, had a thing about mobile usage during her class. She pounced on Canis, snatched her phone away, put it to her ear, and said, "Miss Meretrix can't speak to you right now as she is busy writing a thousand-word essay on how rude it is to make mobile phone calls during class time.", after which she placed the phone in her pocket, and told her that she'd get it back once she handed in her essay.

"Alright, everyone, let's spread out for our warm-up." Jude announced, and everyone obeyed.

Of course, when they spread out, Canis had to choose the space behind Amethyst, and was currently making fun of the shape of her legs, which she suggested it looked like an elephant's, which isn't true, because if one were to look, it was clear Amethyst's legs are more shapely than Canis'. Amethyst hated that despite Jude and Carnis' class' Sports and Wellness Ambassador (they lead the warm-up exercises) telling them to spread out, she chose not to listen, and came even closer to her.

'Hey, I got an idea to get rid of that bully.' Ash's voice was in her head. She turned to see Ash next to her.

'What?' Amethyst asked.

'When the two of them tell us to stretch out legs backwards, you accidentally on purpose kick her.' Ash said. 'Don't turn around though.'

Amethyst inwardly nodded in approval, as the two Sports and Wellness Ambassadors told the students to copy them put one leg backward. Amethyst took this opportunity to kick Canis on the chin hard, and she fell to the ground.

Mrs Chapman, the Physical Education teacher, turned to see Canis wincing as she gripped her chin.

"What's going on?" Mrs Chapman asked.

"She kicked me!" Canis whined.

"I didn't know you were that close to me. Didn't they tell all of us to spread out?" Amethyst retorted.

"Canis, don't tell me you chose to stick close to Amethyst when Jude and Jeanette said to spread out." Mrs Chapman frowned.

"I did not!" She denied. "She kicked me on purpose!"

"Er….she didn't turn around, we all saw that." Lorelei interrupted, and the others around her nodded in agreement.

"Well, Canis, now you know why we spread out. I won't say you don't deserve it, because you do for not listening to me." Mrs Chapman scolded Canis. Amethyst took the opportunity to swap places with Rosaline, who was far enough not to hear any of her snarky remarks without the teacher hearing, as they continued their warm-up exercises, before Mrs Chapman announced that they were going to play dodge ball, and told them to form two teams, with the Chairman as the team captain. Needless to say, the people chose to stick with their own class, but that meant that the HSD BP Class B had a number advantage because they had ten more people in their class.

Mrs Chapman threw the ball upwards, and Ash proceeded to jump, and catch the ball. He whacked a ball towards a girl from the opposing team, who was caught off guard. The whistle was blown, indicating the girl was out.

One of the students got the ball and threw it towards Lance, who caught it easily, before taking out another boy by throwing it.

"And here I thought people who aren't good at studies must be good at sports." Phillip mumbled, dodging the ball aimed at him as the opposing team members begin to dwindle down, though some of their classmates were also taken out.

"Who gave you that idea?" Amethyst mumbled, as the ball was thrown back to the opposing team, taking out another in the process. She didn't see that Canis had the ball, and she had a gleam on her eye as she aimed for Amethyst's face. Canis whacked the ball with all the force she got towards Amethyst, but at the last second, Diantha pushed her aside, leaving her to be hit on the forehead. A whistle was blown twice, which meant pause the game, as Mrs Chapman rushed to check on Diantha. When she confirmed Diantha was ok, she turned to Canis.

"You know Canis, you are not supposed to aim for a person's face in dodge ball." Mrs Chapman said in disapproval, as Diantha walked to the side-lines because she was out. Canis just shrugged nonchalantly, as the game continued.

It was now down to Ash and his four friends, and Canis as the remaining member of the opposing team. Canis was feebly throwing the ball at them, which they either dodged or caught easily, as her stamina was wearing out, which wasn't surprising, considering how she always failed all her stations in the Hunter's Association Fitness Test, despite looking fit and trim (which is probably due to diet rather than exercise)

Mrs Chapman started counting down from ten seconds, which Canis panicked as she only had that much time to take out all five of the opponents to win the game, but the whistle blew, and the win went to the HSD AP Class A. The winning class cheered, just as the bell rang, signalling lunch time. The students then headed to the locker room to change, and in some cases, shower.

"Mrs Chapman?" Ash asked. "Could you sign here in the class diary?"

"Sure." Mrs Chapman proceeded to sign on it. As she did, she made small talk with Ash.

"So, congrats on being Chairman." Mrs Chapman said.

"Thank you. Could I make a little request?" Ash asked.

"What is it?" Mrs Chapman enquired.

"Could you change our PE time, or at least the other class one because I really hate to see Canis tormenting Amethyst all the time? You see, Amethyst was Canis' favourite bullying victim, and I really want them not to have the same class so Amethyst wouldn't be troubled by her insults. I know for one the BP Classes have free periods."

Mrs Chapman frowned, as she consulted her timetable. "You are right, Canis class has a free period, which is where I'm free too. I think I can arrange that. I'll talk to Principal Anderson, and get back to you. You really care for your friends. Keep it up, Ash."

Ash nodded, as he rushed off for quick shower, changed into his clothes and wore the school blazer over his clothes, before he met his friends outside the locker room, and they headed down for lunch.

They ate lunch without any issue this time, though Amethyst had to eat quickly as she had Poképuffs she wanted to bake for all their Pokémon. After she was done, she nodded a goodbye to them, before heading to the Home Economics Kitchen to start baking. Luckily, the kitchen provided all the ingredients she needed.

As she poured the milk as she mixed her ingredients, she used her telekinesis to mix one bowl while her hands were mixing another. Meanwhile, her Pokémon were helping to cut the ingredients or picking out the ingredients from the kitchen cupboard. While waiting for the base to finish baking, she read a magazine called Poké Chic. She once worked on a photo shoot for the magazine, because she had won the Hearthome Collection. Once she heard the oven ding, she got them out, and began decorating the Poképuffs, and adding the toppings that each of her Pokémon liked.

Unknown to her, a certain wild Eevee had smelt the smell of Poképuffs. It perked up its ears in excitement, and made its way towards the Home Economics kitchen. It entered just as Amethyst had had back turned, and was washing the dishes.

Eevee hopped onto the counter where the Poképuffs were, and took a bite. Its eyes sparkled at the heavenly taste of it. **"Wow, this is absolutely delicious!"** It mumbled to itself, and finished that Poképuff. However, it did not stop there, unlike for other students. It started eating a second one, a third, and a fourth, until Amethyst had finished washing her dishes, and turned, only to see the Eevee gobbling up all her Poképuffs.

Amethyst quickly grabbed Eevee by the back of the collar, thinking, 'Oh shoot…Aria was right…' as she realized Eevee had eaten three-quarters of what she had baked. She took a good look at the Eevee, who had the "Whoops...sorry..." look on its face. Amethyst dimly noted that this Eevee was female.

"Hey, wait a minute, you're the Eevee that is infamous for eating other people's Poképuffs biting people as defence and getting bored when people try to befriend you! You even jumped on one trainer's face when she tried to be friends!" Amethyst said, as Eevee gave a guilty look.

"Well that isn't going to work on me." Amethyst said, just as the bell rang, signalling they only had five minutes left for lunch. "Oh shucks." Amethyst hastily packed her stuff and her remaining Poképuffs, which wasn't many, considering Eevee ate most of them, and shouted to her Pokémon "Let's go."

" **Wait!"** Eevee called out, as they teleported away.

Eevee tilted her head in confusion, as she walked towards the exit. **"Where did she go?"** Eevee wondered. She sniffed, and it's faint, but she still can detect her scent. Eevee decided to follow the scent to where Amethyst was.

She took the escalators up the floors at first, but however, the Trainers using them tried to catch her, but Eevee managed to jump on a student's head and off the escalator, deciding to use the stairs. She scampered up the stairs, and was inwardly smiling as the scent she was tracking was getting stronger.

The scent led her to a series of classrooms, all with doors and windows closed, and she proceeded to sniff away at the doors, until she was led to a classroom with the label HSD AP Class A, where the scent was the strongest. However, the doors were all closed.

'No! How can I get in now?" Eevee thought sadly. As if Arceus was answering her question, a student came out of the front door to go to the washroom, and forgot to close the door.

'There's my chance!' Eevee ran into the classroom before Phillip closed the door, mumbling about idiots who forget their classroom is air-conditioned.

"What's with your bad mood?" Ash asked Amethyst, as he noticed she was writing in her notebook with more strength than usual, though her face did not betray anything.

"The Eevee Aria was talking about ate almost all my Poképuffs." Amethyst mumbled, as she got out her required books. "Let's hope I don't see her again."

Just then, the class was shouting, "I want that Eevee!", "No, I'll get it!", "I saw it first!", "So? It's nearer to me." And all other nonsense like that.

Ash and Amethyst looked at each other, and decided to step in. Ash took the whiteboard duster, and knocked it on the whiteboard three times to get the class' attention.

"Now what's going on here?" Ash asked. "You guys belong to the top class of the Academy, and yet, look at you all, squabbling like a bunch of three-year-olds!"

"We're sorry, Chairman." A girl said. "It's just that, a wild Eevee just wandered in our class, and we hope to get it as our Pokémon." She indicated a frightened Eevee who was cowering on the floor.

"Well I'm sorry, this is class, and I'm not allowing any of you to catch it until school ends." Amethyst said firmly, as she took the Eevee in her arms. "Now get back to your seats!"

" **You saved me!"** Eevee said happily.

"And you are a dumbass." Amethyst muttered, glaring at Eevee, as she recognized her as the same one who stole her Poképuffs. What the heck was Eevee thinking entering her classroom like that?

" **Huh? What do you mean?"** Eevee asked, having a sad and puzzled expression, just as the door opened and Miss Juniper (sometimes known as Professor Juniper) walked in, and set her teaching stuff out on the teacher's desk. Amethyst said nothing more and returned to her seat, taking Eevee with her.

After Physics, it was time for History/Geography class. Students could only choose to take either History or Geography once they reach High School Division, so last year, they were given a form to put their first choice as History or Geography, but the teachers see their choices according to the level ranking, which meant that the ones who were low on the list might not get the desired subject they want. In the end, History had two classes while Geography had only one as more people chose History.

Out of the five of them, only Phillip took Geography, while the rest chose History, which meant they had to separate from Phillip as they left the class for History. Amethyst put Eevee down, since class has ended and she only needed to hold onto her until Physics Class ended and headed to History class with the other three.

" **Wait!"** Eevee called out, rushing after Amethyst, as they entered the classroom where their History lesson was to be held. Ash and Amethyst sat at the very back, while Jude and Rosaline sat in front of them. Eevee entered through the back door.

"You let go of that Eevee already?" Jude asked Amethyst, who nodded curtly as she didn't want to babysit the Eevee anymore.

"Obviously. That Eevee is troublesome." Amethyst mumbled.

" **Hey, I'm right here!"** Eevee replied, going up to Amethyst.

Amethyst did not appear to hear her, as she was busy chatting with her friends. She sat under Amethyst's desk, and tried to get her attention by making some noise. When that didn't work, she began nuzzling her legs, which caused her leg to recoil, and look down. She groaned when she saw the Eevee again, and was about to pick her up and throw her out of class, but the teacher came in, and she had no choice but to keep Eevee with her for History too.

* * *

"Amethyst." Ash called out to her. Amethyst turned to Ash, wondering what he wanted. The five of them were walking back from History on the way back to their class for Biology, and once again, Amethyst had left the History classroom leaving Eevee on the table.

Ash slightly jerked his head backward, indicating for her to look behind her. Amethyst did, and saw the little Eevee following the group like a lost Growlithe.

"Now what do you want?" Amethyst turned to face the Eevee, who jumped in fright at the broken silence.

" **Please catch me."** Eevee requested.

The five of them looked at Amethyst for her answer, as they reached their own classroom, and entered through the back door.

"I have all the Eeveelutions I want, so it's a no." Amethyst said, as she hastily entered, and closed the door to prevent Eevee from entering. However, Eevee wasn't about to give up, and proceeded to enter the classroom from the front door, where the other students were entering. Some of the students were looking in envy as they saw the infamous Eevee making her way to Amethyst's table, while others had the "I saw that coming" look. It was clear Eevee wanted her as her trainer.

"Why isn't she responding to the poor Eevee?" A girl asked her friend. They were sitting just in front of Lance and Lorelei, and they were watching the scene as well. Eevee perked her ears when she heard them talking about her.

"Well, what do you expect? Eevee is dealing with the most popular girl in school." Her friend replied.

Eevee's eyes sparkled when she learnt that Amethyst was the most popular girl in school. A few days ago, she had heard of this popular girl that was kind and loving towards her Pokémon, and usually trains them well and makes good food for her Pokémon as well. The girl they must be talking about was Amethyst, which made Eevee squeal in a fan girl kind of way. Amethyst groaned as her squeals were disturbing her work.

" **Please, catch me, please?"** Eevee begged.

"You get bored whenever someone tries to entertain you. I'm a boring person, I'd bore you to death." Amethyst replied.

 **"No, you don't."** Eevee insisted. She had a feeling with Amethyst, things would never get boring, since she was the most popular girl in school.

"That's it. Out you go." Amethyst took Eevee by the back of her cream fur collar, and opened the door, ignoring Eevee's sad face and her ears drooping, put Eevee outside, and slammed the door. Eevee rushed to claw at the door, trying to get in. However, a student needed the toilet once again, and left without closing, which Eevee took advantage of and entered once more. This time, she decided to go under Amethyst's table and lay at the space in between her feet.

Amethyst felt something tickling her leg, looked down, and resisted the urge to smack her head against the table. She should've just teleported Eevee away.

"What is this thing lying at my feet?" Amethyst mumbled. Eevee heard, got up, and began rubbing her head against her leg.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked, and as answer Amethyst held up the Eevee for Ash to see.

"Not that Eevee again!" Ash exclaimed, and Eevee deflated her ears sadly.

"Even if I need an Eevee, I don't want this one. She bites." Amethyst held her away like a bomb that was ready to detonate at any moment. Eventually, she let go of Eevee, who began clinging to her leg.

" **Please, take me in. I'll be good."** Eevee begged. **"I promise not to bite if you take me in your team."**

"Someone get this Eevee off me." Amethyst was trying to shake the Eevee off. Everyone in class was happy to help, but every time they got Eevee into the Pokéball, she burst out of them, and returned to Amethyst's leg.

"You might as well take her in. I bet she won't leave even if you told her to." Ash said.

"I am happy with my current Pokémon. Besides, I am sure she'd take any of us from our group, we are the most popular clique." Amethyst replied dryly.

Eevee shook her head. **"No, it has to be you. Please? I won't bite."**

"Sure…" Amethyst looked sceptical. Eevee resorted to using Baby-Doll Eyes to get Amethyst to soften and catch her. However, Amethyst simply said, "That isn't going to work." Eevee became saddened, and used her big wet eyes (from tears). It worked a little as Amethyst took a toy ball (looked a lot like the Quick Ball) and threw it at Eevee for her to play.

Unfortunately, since it looked a lot like the Quick Ball, she had not noticed she threw a real Quick Ball instead of the toy one. But it was too late, as Eevee, seeing a Pokéball flying towards her, became very delighted and willingly got sucked into the Pokéball, which dinged without even a struggle, much to most of the class' chagrin, as they wanted the Eevee for themselves.

'What have I done?' Amethyst had cradled her head in her hands, elbows on the table, as she realized the Eevee, which she had no intention of catching, was now hers. The Quick Ball opened by itself and Eevee was seen prancing happily around the classroom, happy to have been caught by the trainer she had always wanted. She jumped into Amethyst's arms and nuzzled her affectionately. Amethyst sighed. Oh well, she had no heart in releasing Eevee anyway, may as well take her under her wing.

She noticed the door opening and the teacher entering, and stood up with the rest of the class to greet her

Later…

"This is boring." Ash mumbled to Amethyst. They were in Biology talking about STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).

"You're telling me." Amethyst whispered. "How many times in our academic careers are they going to tell us that having unprotected sex can result in unwanted pregnancy and AIDS? Do they think it didn't soak in the first five thousand times or something?"

"Apparently. Hey, I heard Serena obtained an Eevee just before the summer holidays ended you know. She's probably going to use it for Pokémon Showcases."

"Where did you hear that from?" Amethyst asked.

"I heard Jessie bitching about not getting the Eevee she had wanted, complaining that she lost it to Serena." Ash replied, as he rolled his eyes. Jessie and James usually went around and try to steal Pokémon and other stuff during the holidays, but it always somehow failed. It's most likely Jessie tried to capture the Eevee against its will, but Serena foiled her.

"Well, one thing's for sure: It isn't the Poképuff thief." Amethyst nodded to the Eevee who was contentedly lying on her lap. She had refused to return to her Quick Ball, as she had expressed her wish to stay out here with her. "Oh yeah, that reminds me…." She searched her bag for something, before retrieving a pink hair ribbon. "This should do."

"What are you doing?" Ash asked.

"I need a way to tell my Eevee and her Eevee apart without using aura." With that, she tied the ribbon at the bottom of her left ear.

" **What are you doing?"** Eevee repeated Ash's question, and tilted her head. As answer, Pakura held up a mirror for Eevee to see.

" **Ooh, I look pretty!"** Eevee was admiring herself, and nuzzled her head against her hand.

'For someone that said she didn't want the Eevee, she is sure taking good care of it so far.' Ash thought. He had to admit, affectionate Pokémon are the cutest, as proven by the little Eevee trying to snuggle closer to her.

"So how is the gender of the baby determined? Ash?" The teacher asked.

Ash snapped out of his reverie, and said, "Oh, the sperm contains X and Y chromosomes. If the sperm fertilizing the X chromosome egg contained an X chromosome, it would be XX, resulting in a girl. Subsequently, if the sperm fertilizing the X chromosome egg had a Y chromosome, it would result in XY, resulting in a boy."

"Very good." The teacher praised, and went on to talk about the 23 pair of chromosomes.

* * *

Misty was frustrated. As she had skipped her Chemistry review session (she was flunking Chemistry, despite the fact that her subject was combined Physics/Chemistry, as opposed to the Advanced Programme, who takes pure Chemistry).

Now what is the difference between Combined Chemistry and Pure Chemistry?

First of all, is how they calculate the results. So let's say if you take Combined Physics/Chemistry like Misty, and if you get…let's say, an eighty for the Chemistry component, and sixty for the Physics component, add that together would be a total of hundred and forty out of two hundred. They would cut that total mark in half to get your results for Physics/Chemistry. Which means to say, if you did very well for one and badly for another, you still can pass the overall subject.

And if you take Pure Chemistry, like Ash and the others, if you get a sixty for Chemistry, that's it. Your report book would reflect a sixty. The end.

The second difference would be the number of topics studied. Pure Chemistry students would have to study more topics and their questions are usually more difficult than those who take Combined Chemistry, and when it comes to exam questions, Pure Chemistry students have to answer forty MCQ questions, while Combined only needed to answer twenty of them. The final section of three questions, which requires long answers, Pure Chemistry students needed to answer all three, while the Combined Chemistry had the luxury of choosing two questions to answer (they need not answer the third)

Actually, these differences applies to the other sciences, Physics and Biology, not just Chemistry.

And thanks to her having been reported, she was stuck in the classroom having the periodic table drilled in by her demented teacher, who kept running a hand thorough her hair and screaming in frustration when she found out Misty didn't know the formula for water.

Pop quiz the next day wasn't any better either. She wrote out all the formulas on the white rubber sole of her shoes, right where it curved in between her heel and her toes. She crossed her legs and took a peek if she got stuck.

Fat lot of good it did her too. After the teacher collected the test, she went over the problems on the board, and she got every single one of them wrong anyway. She couldn't even cheat right.

Now she was assigned extra homework on Chemistry, and did not know the answers to them, and she wasn't allowed to go for CCA until she does her homework.

She saw Rosaline and her Espeon walk past, carrying her Chemistry textbook, and the light bulb in her head lit up. Rosaline was a straight A student, maybe she wouldn't mind if she "borrowed" her notes and copied her answers. With that thought, she followed Rosaline to her locker and tried to see her combination code, but it was hard as Rosaline was bent over the lock, blocking her view of the combination lock. As she worked on her combination, she talked to Espeon about Amethyst's newly-obtained Eevee (much to her chagrin, she had gotten an Eevee she had wanted)

Misty watched as Rosaline placed her books, and left after she was done. She crept to Rosaline's locker, and tried to figure out the code.

Luck must be on her side, as the door opened, and she was about to take Rosaline's notes, when a finger tapped on her shoulder. She turned to see Principal Anderson frowning at her.

Uh oh! She took that back. Lady Luck isn't on her side.

* * *

Ash was putting his books away in his locker after school, when he saw Cynthia approach with her entourage of guys.

"Alright, boys, I really got to go on my own from here." Cynthia announced, as they mock groaned, and left.

"Hello Cynthia." Ash smiled at her that slightly showed his perfectly straight white teeth. Since she was a classmate of his, it was polite to greet her and with a smile as well.

"Hi, Ash." Cynthia greeted back, as she started to work on her combination, which was two lockers away from his.

"I really agree with what you said at the dining hall just now. You know, about not drinking as you respect your body and everything. I think that's a really cool attitude you know, and sets a good example to all the students." Ash nodded, indicating he had overheard Cynthia telling her suitors that she doesn't drink as she tries to be respectful to her body and not put a whole lot of toxins into it, when one of the guys invited her to some "cool" party they are having this weekend.

"Thank you, Ash." Cynthia replied distractedly, as she accidentally dropped her Biology textbook, and it went skittering across the hall. She stooped down to pick it up, and gather the old worksheets that had slid out of her textbook.

Ash bent down next to Cynthia, and said, "Here.", as he handed Cynthia her favourite pencil, the one with the feathery pom-pom on the end.

"Thanks." Cynthia said, just as the bell rang, signalling the start of CCA.

"Well, see you." Ash said, as he took his bag and headed to Concert Band Club.

* * *

"Alright, everyone is used to your instruments already?" Ash asked the room in general. They were in the music room with their respective instruments which belonged to the woodwind, brass, and percussion families, along with double bass and violin. Ash is mainly the saxophone and trumpet, while Amethyst was the flute and the violin (she is the Vice-Captain of this Club).

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Ash got them to get in their places with their instruments.

"Alright, count of eight, we start." Ash said, as he began conducting. However, halfway, he realized something was wrong.

"Cut!" Ash called out, as everyone looked up from their instruments. Ash was listening carefully, and he found out one of the students were playing it totally off, which was why he shouted "Cut!"

"Ada, what is the meaning of this?" Ash asked, going up to a girl with brownish-grey hair that was cut slightly above shoulder length, and greenish grey eyes. She was holding a clarinet. She had played it totally off from the tune they were supposed to play. Amethyst stood up as well, holding her flute limply to her side wondering what was going on.

"Er…well…." She was scratching her head sheepishly.

"Don't you know you're supposed to wait for the eighth count to start?" Amethyst enquired.

Ada nodded. "Yes, I sure do!"

Ash looked at the music sheet she had with her, and face palmed. She was playing the wrong song for Arceus' sake!

"Ada, we're playing the song on page fifty, not fifteen." Ash clarified.

"Oh…opps, sorry." Ada quickly turned to the correct page.

"Ok, everyone, from the top." Amethyst sighed, as she waved her violin bow like a conductor's stick to count the beat. However, just as she was about to start, Eevee affectionately jumped on her head, which lead her to stumble because Eevee's tail was blocking her vision, but she was caught by Ash.

Another student removed the Eevee from her head, who was now struggling to get to her. The student let go of her quickly, knowing this Eevee's tendency to bite, and inwardly wondering how Amethyst got Eevee to be so affectionate to her.

"Now, Eevee." Ash warned in a gentle tone. "You could've caused her to fall, you just blocked her vision."

" **I'm sorry…I just wanted a hug."** Eevee whimpered, tears in her eyes.

Ash sighed. It turned out that Eevee was overly affectionate with the trainer she chooses, and would never let this trainer out of her sight. While it is cute, it caused some problems, like the one right now.

"Eevee, come here." Amethyst held out her arms, and Eevee's eyes lit up, as she bounded over, and jumped into her arms. With one arm, she held Eevee and another she held her violin bow.

"Alright, from the top. Now…." Amethyst announced, and started to wave her bow.

* * *

'Why am I here again?' Rosaline found herself being sent to the principal's office. She was nervous, as when the student worker came to her Poetry Club (they were meeting in one of the Innovation Labs) with a pink hall pass, she never thought for a minute it might be for her.

She was just sitting there, giving advice on how to make words rhyme, and giving a steady pace for a poem when they read them out, and how one's main problem is the inability to make words rhyme and make sense at the same time. Everyone was scribbling notes at her advice at whatever notebook they happen to have with them.

"You have trouble concentrating, James?" Rosaline raised her eyebrows at one of her Single Star members. Although he was well-versed in poetry, his somewhat slack attitude makes Rosaline exasperated at him. He was best friends with the vain Jessie, whom Amethyst had to put up with most of the time.

"No, no, no, not at all." James was waving his hands, and Rosaline snatched his papers out of his hands. It turned out to be notes from Jessie as to plan to make Poképuffs to lure the wandering Eevee out so Jessie can capture it.

"You guys are too late." Rosaline informed the boy, as she burnt the notes with her fire abilities. "Amethyst has already caught the Eevee herself."

That left James shocked. The Eevee Jessie wanted had already been caught. "R-Really?" He spluttered.

"Obviously. Now get back to work." Rosaline went to supervise the others, and that was when the hall pass arrived with her name on it, and she was informed to go to the Principal's Office.

The door opened, and William saw her outside. "Hello, Rosaline, please, come in."

Rosaline was puzzled when she saw Misty inside, folding her arms defiantly.

"What's going on?" Rosaline was puzzled.

"You might want to change your combination for your locker." William said.

"Why?" Rosaline asked. What William answered left her somewhat horrified.

"Misty here figured out your passcode."

* * *

"Go! Go! Go!" Students were cheering at the space just outside the clubrooms. There was a building that had rooms for each of the CCAs, as all of them have their own clubroom. Only the captains may have the keys to the said clubrooms, and it could be used for a private meeting, a place to pay CCA fees, and other miscellaneous things.

Phillip and another student, Sparky (who owns a Jolteon like him) were now racing remote controlled cars through various obstacles and towards the finish line during their Robotics Innovation Technology Club. So far, they were three-quarters of the way through, and Phillip's car was a little behind Sparky's.

"Looks like I'm winning, captain." Sparky was grinning at him.

"I won't be so sure." Phillip replied, as he veered his car to a slope, and the car flew in the air for a brief moment, before landing in front of Sparky's car, and zoomed past the finish line.

"Hey, no fair!" Sparky was looking on with shock, as the others cheered for Phillip.

"Never mess with a master." Phillip smirked, as he handed the remote to the next person. He frowned when his phone rang, and when he saw the Caller ID said Rosaline, he tapped the answer button on the screen.

"Hello?" Phillip greeted the caller.

"Phillip, remember the chip you invented that electrocutes anyone but the people it was keyed to, can be attached to anything, and can't be taken off unless you permit it?" Rosaline asked.

"Yes, why?" Phillip sighed.

"I'll need to change the passcode, and attach it to my locker, please. No wait scratch that, make it all of our lockers." Rosaline said.

"What is going on?" Phillip cut her off.

"Misty was fumbling with my locker, and was trying to steal something. I got to go, Principal Anderson wants to speak to both of us." With that, she hung up.

Phillip looked down at his phone in sheer horror, and decided to inform the other three. With that in mind, he told the Vice-Captain to take over as he had some business to do, and went to look for the others.

 **BP: Ok, it was short, as I had no idea what to write, and school is reopening in two days, so I can't update for a while, please understand.**

 **The Pure Science, Combined Science subjects are actually real, and it's based on our country's school subjects.**

 **Canis is based on a school bully I had in my high school. You have no idea how many times I wanted to kill her for insulting me, and even disrespecting and cursing my family. Come on, leave my family out of this. Even when an incident has nothing to do with me, she just had to drag me in to make it more fun.**

 **I still have not decided if Clemont, Serena and Bonnie would be Ash's side or traitor's side, so continue voting on that.**

 **If anyone wonders what is with Amethyst, read carefully. It was briefly mentioned.**

 **Also, for future chapters (if PAL decided to start dating) I have decided that two of the PAL Elites would date other people AND break up with them. One of them would be Ash (he would date and then break up before going to the person he really loves) and another would be either Amethyst or Rosaline. Please vote on who should be the one suffering a break up.**

 **The final pairing for Ash (and Rosaline or Amethyst) would be the pairing you put in suggestions. With that in mind, please tell me who you want them to date AND break up with (I figured first time relationship working would be very boring, as I realized when I wrote the original)**

 **For Phillip, Jude and Amethyst (or Rosaline), I will proceed as normal. For Jude, I have narrowed down to either Valerie, Diantha, Elesa or Sabrina, for Phillip, he is still free game.**

 **I just want to conform: Do you all want the final pairing for Ash to be Ash x Amethyst, or someone else, like Cynthia? Because if I get many votes for the former, I'll put RoyalShipping (the term I created for Ash x Pakura/Amethyst)**


	4. Ash's Reminisces, upcoming school events

**BP: Ok, I know it's quite a while since I touched this story. I just want to say that mysterypink98 has started college, and she's really busy. I did tell her to message me when she is free, but it has almost been a month and still no word from her. Yes, she's definitely alive, as she did celebrate Chinese New Year (February 8), which theoretically she would have public holidays on Monday and Tuesday, but I didn't hear a single word from her (I did email her though, but no reply). Oh well, I do know the March holidays start on the 11** **th** **, so hopefully she contacts me by then.**

 **So this leaves me to continue the Fanfiction Project by myself for the time being (until she contacts me again, which is I don't know when), and as for her OC Rosaline, I would have to make do with what I know about her. And due to the fact that she is unable to update her Deviantart, this leaves me to create one to post all the pictures I have made so far in relation to my Fanfiction Project. I made them via Photoshop and Rinmaru Games. Please note I cannot draw or request a commission (but if you offer to help me design my characters in exchange for something I can afford besides money I'd be happy to accept)**

 **Anyway, back to the story, and more announcements after this chapter ends!**

 **Note: Due to the overwhelming response of having RoyalShipping for this fic, this means the end pairing for this story will be RoyalShipping.**

"Ready, let's go. Five, six, seven, eight. Go, team, go!" Jude was in his cheerleading uniform for the purpose of practice today. He was holding blue and white pom-poms, demonstrating the routine moves according to the beat of the music, while his members followed.

"When you're up, you're up!" Jude recited the first line of the cheer, kicking his leg up, and his teammates followed suit.

"When you're down, you're down!" Jude forcefully threw his hands down, but did not throw away his pom-poms.

"When you're up against P-A-L…" Jude trailed off when he saw Morgan follow suit, but the way he shaped his arms was the letter O, making the routine look like "P-O-L" instead.

"Cut!" Jude shouted, and everyone stopped, and the person manning the music radio stopped the background music as well. Jude put aside his pom-poms, and marched up to Morgan.

"Morgan, that's an O, not an A!" Jude folded his arms. "Honestly, we have gone over this routine before. Please get it right."

"I am correct!" Morgan shouted. "You're just jealous I can pull it better."

"Oh yeah?" Jude said. "Then, you won't have any problem doing that pose again, would you?"

Morgan grumbled but obeyed, and Jude turned to his fellow members. "Team, does this look like the letter A or the letter O?"

"The letter O!" The team chorused. They were not agreeing with Jude just because he was popular either, as it is actually true.

"You see?" Jude turned back to Morgan. "They all agree that it looks like the letter O."

"Hey, why are you siding him?" Morgan shouted to the members. "You should be supporting the popular side. Me!"

The other cheerleaders laughed.

"You? Popular?" A girl scoffed.

"Wherever did you get the idea?" A boy snorted.

"You know what, Morgan. You just sit at the side until you get that part right." Jude ordered. "If you don't, let's just say my Umbreon would be very happy to force you using Psychic."

Morgan grumbled, and stormed over to the side-lines, where the bleachers are. At the bleachers, he saw that Jude's bag had a few Kälteen Bars.

'Why does he get to carry food around?' Morgan grumbled. 'Well, I'm starving. Maybe he won't miss it if I take one.' With that thought, Morgan stole a Kälteen Bar and ate the bar in one mouth. 'Mmm…not bad. I'll take another.'

Soon, all the Kälteen Bars were finished, and Morgan threw away the wrappers to get rid of the evidence that he ate it.

Halfway through the practice, Jude's phone rang, and Jude had to go over to his bag to retrieve it. He noticed that the Kälteen Bars he bought for Amethyst so that she would gain some weight (Jude thought she looked a bit thin when they saw each other again on the first day of school, though she kept her sexy figure) were missing.

'Morgan must've eaten them. Oh well, if this causes him to gain even more weight, his popularity would drop even further. Not that popularity matters on looks alone, but sadly, it does play a part.' Jude thought, and answered his phone, as he saw that the Caller ID said "Phillip".

"Hello, Phillip?" Jude said.

"Hey Jude." Phillip replied from the other line.

"Is there something wrong?" Jude asked. "You sound somewhat distressed."

"Yeah. Misty broke into Rosaline's locker, you know. So I figure I'd inform all of you to change your passwords once in a while. Oh, and let's meet in Amethyst's room for dinner so I can pass something to you without prying eyes. She has already agreed to let us use her room. While we're at it, maybe we can order pizza and watch a movie or something."

"Will do. Where's Rosaline?" Jude enquired.

"Principal's Office. She told me to inform all of you." Phillip chucked sheepishly. "So I temporarily left my Robotics Club to relay the messages."

Jude nodded, though Phillip is unable to see it. "Well, better get back to your CCA, lest you miss a lot."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye." Jude replied, and hung up.

'This is big news…and bad too.' Jude thought, looking at his phone.

* * *

"Thanks for your offer to help me with the baking of the Poképuffs." Amethyst said to Ash. The two of them were in the kitchen baking Poképuffs for Pokémon belonging to the five friends. Well, Amethyst was doing most of the baking. Ash was following the instructions given to him by Amethyst. So far, he has helped with the softening of the mix of ingredients as per the instructions and passing Amethyst the ingredients that she needed.

"No problem." Ash replied. "I still have time until it's time for my Pokéathalon Club session. Besides, you had it hard. Somebody did eat almost all your Poképuffs." He looked to a certain Eevee, who was giving the "I'm very sorry, please forgive me" look.

"Don't forget she also pestered me until she got caught by me by accident, and refused to go back to her Quick Ball." Amethyst grumbled, as her new Eevee's ears dropped even further. Amethyst rolled her eyes, but tossed her a dessert she had recently made, which was some delicious chocolate containing strawberry fondant. Amethyst had called it, "Strawberry Fondant Surprise". Amethyst's Eevee perked up, and caught the dessert with her mouth.

" **Delicious."** Eevee commented, as the surprise turned out to be Pecha Berry icing, which flowed down Eevee's throat.

"Well, no one, whether human or Pokémon, can say no to your treats. I know I can't say no to your cooking." Ash joked. "Since we're meeting in your room for dinner, maybe you can make something as a dessert."

"Maybe I'll make a chocolate crème pie." Amethyst mumbled.

"Bet the others would like that." Ash smiled. "And the other students would be jealous they didn't get a piece. Speaking of chocolate crème pie, wasn't that the first dessert I tasted from you?"

"Are you talking about the time you first came to this school?" Amethyst asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, it felt like yesterday…."

" _Well, I just want to let everyone know that we have a new student joining us." Professor Juniper, the form teacher of BP ESD Class B had her hand on a ten-year-old Ash's shoulder. "His name is Ashura Satoshi Red Ketchum, better known as Ash Ketchum to us. Please make him feel comfortable in PAL Academy!" Ash's new classmates clapped politely, and Ash gave a cheerful smile._

" _Well, Ash, you may take a seat next to Misty. Would Misty please raise your hand?" An orange-haired girl whose short hair was tied in a little side ponytail raised her hand, and Ash smiled gratefully, and sat down next to her._

" _I hope you enjoy your stay in our class." Misty said, and Ash smiled, relieved to have someone friendly to him. "Is that your natural hair colour?"_

" _Yeah." Ash replied._

" _It's gorgeous." Misty complimented._

" _Thank you." Ash smiled._

" _This is the colour I definitely want." A boy sitting behind Misty reached for a lock of Ash's hair._

" _That's Brock." Misty introduced her friend. "He is hopeless when it comes to beautiful girls. Often flirts with them. I'm Misty. I'll introduce you to some of my other friends at lunch."_

" _Thanks." Ash was excited at the prospect of meeting new friends._

 _When the bell rang for lunch, Misty, Brock and Ash were walking along the corridor to lunch. "We don't exactly buy money to get food." Misty explained. "The amount of food we get depends on our Star Rank. Since we are Single Stars, we get the regular amount. Higher Star Rank students would get larger portions of food."_

 _Ash nodded, as Misty stopped, and a grimace crossed her face. "Here comes those Divas."_

" _The Divas?" Ash was puzzled, as he saw a group of four attractive pre-teens that were apparently the center of attention._

" _That's what we call them." Brock said. "Those four are like teen royalty. If this school was the PokéSTYLE magazine, they would always be on the cover. Of course, they are all in the Advanced Programme classes. You can bet their friendship are just a façade, and they are trying to destroy one another on the inside. All popular cliques are like that."_

" _That one on the far left, that's Jude Harrison." Misty said, pointing to a boy with soft features, and black hair that almost reached to his shoulders. His bangs were combed sideways, but it just added to his good looks. His amber eyes also shouted sincerity. On his collar, he had three stars pinned there. With him was a Purrloin "Many girls love him for his looks. Not me though." Misty looked disgusted._

" _The one next to Jude is Rosaline Pyra." Brock pointed to a cute girl with black hair and hot pink highlights. She had midnight black eyes, and had a cheerful smile on her face, which added to her adorable looks. She too had three stars pinned on her collar. She was carrying an adorable Eevee in her arms. "She's totally rich because her dad is a renowned dentist. Makes us wonder if her optimistic image hides the fact that she thinks she's better than everyone else."_

" _The other boy, that's Phillip Robinson." Misty pointed to a boy with brown hair and baby blue eyes, and he had an awkward look about him. He had his fringe combed downwards that almost hid his eyes, and he also had three stars pinned to his collar. On his shoulder was a Pachirisu. "He is an actual genius-he had perfect scores for all his subjects, and he scored full marks for even his essays. He is a know-it-all if you ask me."_

 _Ash nodded, and his attention turned to the last person- An extremely beautiful girl with an aloof expression on her face, with jet black hair and gorgeous amethyst eyes. One could tell she was in the midst of her puberty stage with the distinct curve on her waist and developing breasts. She had a star enclosed in a circle pinned to her collar, indicating she was a Special Star. Walking next to her was a Sylveon._

" _And evil takes a human form in Amethyst Paradinight." Brock commented. "Don't be fooled, because she may seem harmless to you, but in reality, she can be the most dangerous. She has a brother attending this school as well who is a Special Star just like her. Thinks she's a big shot just because her brother is the Student Council President."_

" _She's sort of the queen bee here." Misty added, as they walked in the cafeteria. "The star. Those other three are little workers compared to her. Everyone calls her the Academy's Princess, while her brother is the Academy's Prince."_

" _By the way, our table is over there." Brock pointed to one near the drinks stall. "Get your food, and then come over, alright? Just to let you know, in this school, there are people who are the greatest to meet, and there are the worst people to meet. Remember….beware of those four."_

 _Unfortunately, Ash was just passing by the foursome's table, when a student accosted him._

" _Hey, I'm doing a survey, and I would like you to answer a few questions." Morgan said._

" _Alright." Ash replied, as the four of them looked up from their lunches._

" _First off: Do you think my handbag is vintage?" Morgan asked._

 _Ash looked down at Morgan's handbag, and much to his disgust, not only did it look cheap, the leather was torn in some places. It was likely he bought it from a second hand store somewhere in the PAL Region. The four of them looked at one another, revulsion clearly written on their faces._

" _Is he bothering you?" Amethyst spoke up. "Morgan, you can't just disturb other students just to get a good opinion in your choice of accessories or clothing. You claim they are expensive, but in reality, they are gotten from the Salvation Army."_

" _Excuse me, I have you know this handbag costs me ten thousand Pokédollars!" Morgan replied angrily._

" _Not true." Phillip said, checking his device. "According to this, the handbag you're holding actually costs only 100 Pokédollars. Do you want to be friends with a liar like him?" He directed this to Ash._

 _Ash shook his head. "No."_

 _Morgan glared at him, which Rosaline signalled for him to ignore._

" _Good, so it's settled. So you can stop disturbing new students now. Bye, Morgan." Jude waved sarcastically._

" _Bastard." Morgan muttered, as he walked away. Ash was about to make his way to Misty and Brock's table, but Amethyst stopped him by saying, "Wait."_

 _Ash turned to Amethyst, wondering what the queen bee wanted with him._

" _Sit down." Amethyst invited, patting the seat next to her. Ash looked over to Misty and Brock, who were signalling for him to get to their table. They were sitting with a girl with brown hair who had a red bandana, a girl with blue hair wearing a white beanie and wearing a cute black and pink dress, a girl with really big hair that was tied in three ways and wearing a cream-colored top with a pink collar and cuffs, a pink skirt with what looked like a big ribbon, and a green haired guy wearing a white suit shirt, a green bowtie, black and grey vest with gold buttons, along with black pants. The last person looked to have two stars pinned to his collar, while others have one, just like him._

" _Seriously, sit down." Amethyst repeated, and Ash sighed at the fact that he couldn't sit with his would-be friends, but angering those four may not be a good idea, so he took the seat next to Amethyst._

" _Why don't we know you?" Jude asked at Ash, giving him a smile to help reassure him they won't do anything._

" _I'm new here." Ash replied. "This is actually my first day."_

" _Oh yeah, first days are always scary, right?" Phillip asked, and Ash nodded._

" _But they are always the most interesting." Rosaline added._

" _It definitely is." Ash agreed, as he was still perplexed at why the popular kids would ask him to sit with them. As he ate his lunch, much to his dismay, the food portion assigned to him wasn't enough for him. Amethyst, seeing this, pushed her large bowl of beef stew to him. Ash, seeing this gesture, looked at Amethyst incredulously._

" _Are you sure?" Ash asked._

" _I couldn't always finish all my food, actually." Amethyst admitted. "You can have them, if you want. You look like you need it."_

 _Ash smiled gratefully at her, and ate the stew she gave to him, which was really delicious. He started to envy those with the higher Star Ranks, and made it his goal to be promoted. What was more, they did not seem to be the snotty, popular kids in books or movies, and in fact, they seemed really nice, especially Amethyst, who was willing to share her food with him even though she barely knew him. So why did Misty and Brock think they are mean?_

 _After they finished their lunch, Amethyst offered up a chocolate crème pie. Ash took it as his cue to leave, but Amethyst also offered him a slice. Ash took a bite, and felt as if he went to heaven as the pie was one of the creamiest and sweetest things he had ever tasted! While eating dessert, Ash decided to probe about her brother. "So, I hear you have a brother here in school?"_

 _Amethyst nodded. "Yeah, he's 18, five years older than me. He is already in the High School Division. A Special Star just like me, and also the current Student Council President. Captains for many CCAs I am too lazy to name." Ash couldn't help but laugh, and the others joined him._

" _What's his name?" Ash asked, just as a bespectacled boy in his late teens came over with his drink, and straddling the seat next to Jude. Ash noted that the boy had black hair and purple eyes, and was also a Special Star student judging by his pin located on his collar. Ash had to admit the boy was extremely handsome._

" _Oh My God, my HSD friends are really noisy. I got tired of them asking me when I'd get a girlfriend, so don't mind if I drop in here for some solace." The boy said, as he took a slice of pie as well, with Amethyst not minding he took it without permission._

" _Not at all, Mr. Paradinight." Jude replied, and he earned himself a smack from the boy._

" _That's my brother." Amethyst mouthed to Ash._

" _Like I said a thousand times, Shiki would do!" Shiki sighed. "Mr. Paradinight makes me feel old." His attention turned to Ash._

" _Hey, I never saw you before." Shiki raised his eyebrows._

" _My name's Ash." Ash mumbled, cowering under Shiki's gaze. "I'm new."_

" _Another friend, guys?" Shiki removed Ash's hat with telekinesis and ruffled Ash's hair. "Good for Amy. You know, Amy needs plenty of people to take care of her. Like I said, the more the merrier!"_

" _Oh come on, Brother." Amethyst rolled her eyes, as everyone continued laughing._

" _I think it's a great idea." Rosaline said. "You should really come have lunch with us every day."_

" _Oh, no, it's ok, I…" Ash started, but he was cut off by Phillip saying, "Great. So we'll see you tomorrow."_

The reminiscence ended when his stomach growled, though it was pretty soft. "Man, I'm hungry."

"You only had lunch a few hours ago." Amethyst reminded him. "But then again, boys do have a higher metabolism, so I won't say you wasted your food energy. Here."

Ash saw that Amethyst was offering him a box, and Ash opened to see an assortment of noodles with meatballs, potato balls, salad, and rolls.

"Wow, thanks Amethyst!" Ash was amazed. "These are hot as well."

"Don't flatter yourself, those were lunch leftovers." Amethyst mumbled. "I just reheated it that's all. Go eat, your job's done for now."

When the Poképuffs were done, Amethyst got Ash to help with the decorating and separating them into five boxes for each of them, and cleaning up the kitchen. Amethyst also enlisted Ash's help in delivering three out of the four boxes to the other three before his CCA as hers was going to start soon.

Ash nodded, and left the kitchen, leaving Amethyst to gather her stuff and make her way to the Performer's Hall, where the CCA would take place. Much to Amethyst's chagrin, Eevee and Skitty decided to cling to each of her shoulders.

On the way there, a brown blur was running around the corridors, almost bumping into Amethyst, and causing her to drop her cosmetic case containing her grooming supplies and her freshly-made Poképuffs, but Amethyst managed to prevent it from falling using telekinesis. With her enhanced eyesight, she could tell it was an Eevee. She was about to open her mouth and scold her Eevee, only to notice that the said Eevee was still perched on her shoulder. The other Eevee proceeded to dash into a nearby classroom, and hide inside one of the closet that contained school supplies.

"Eevee!" One of her members, Serena, appeared shortly after in the corridor, no doubt looking for her recently-acquired Eevee.

"Oh, hey Captain." Serena said sheepishly. Seeing Amethyst's somewhat pissed-off expression, Serena went on, "Er….did my Eevee disturb you?"

"Let's just say if I didn't use telekinesis to save my Poképuffs, I'd have wasted Ash's and my efforts to make those Poképuffs. Not to mention, some of my containers would break and ruin the rest of my grooming supplies." Amethyst said cynically.

"I'm so sorry!" Serena apologized. As a Pokémon Performer, she knew how much Pokémon Performers like to groom their Pokémon to enhance their appearances for the Showcases themselves.

Serena herself even kept a cosmetic case to keep things such as her brush which she used to groom her Pokémon, but she knew the captain herself kept even more grooming products, as she had once looked over the captain's shoulder while she was packing her grooming supplies, and was awestruck at the various products her captain had for Pokémon grooming purposes. She had sworn she even saw things such as soap, conditioner, shampoo, and even make up products in there.

Amethyst sighed. "What happened now?"

Serena blushed, embarrassed. "Er…you see, the Dragon Club members were having practice battles just below us, and two attacks clashed together making a huge explosion. Eevee was so startled she ran away."

'So her Eevee's female too.' Amethyst thought.

"You won't, by any chance, see my Eevee, have you?" Serena asked worriedly.

"I have, actually." Amethyst said curtly.

"Really? Where?" Serena asked.

"The school supply closet in the classroom over there." Amethyst replied, pointing.

"Thank you so much!" Serena proceeded to the location Amethyst directed her to, while Amethyst decided to make her way to the Performer's Hall now. By the time she reached, there were various members waiting for her to open the doors. Amethyst retrieved a key from her skirt pocket, and unlocked the doors, allowing the Performers in.

"Did you encounter the Eevee?" Aria asked.

Amethyst grumbled, and held out her new Eevee for Aria to see. Eevee blinked cutely at being held out, but assumed that Amethyst wanted to show her off, and affectionately nuzzled her chest.

"You caught it?" Aria's mouth dropped slightly, as her hand was placed somewhere at her lower lip which only half-covered her mouth instead of covering it completely, so while Amethyst knew she meant it as a surprise gesture, she still could see her jaw drop in astonishment. "How did you tame it?"

"Her." Amethyst corrected Aria. "I didn't have to tame her. It turns out she shows a lot of affection to a trainer that she chooses."

Serena ran in, panting as she clutched to her Eevee. The Eevee was nervously looking around at the Performers staring at the two of them, and she tried to burrow her head into Serena's arm to no avail.

"I'm sorry, she's really shy." Serena apologized.

Amethyst walked over, and looked at the Eevee coolly. "Is she going to be part of your performance?"

Serena nodded. "She has a very beautiful dance. Perhaps I'll try and show it to you."

"Right. Just make sure that Eevee's shyness doesn't affect your performance, or your school team spot might be at stake." She gave a warning look to Eevee, who whimpered, and went to take the attendance of her members.

" **That was a bit harsh, don't you think?"** Sylveon asked.

"Well, I am in the top class of the academy with lots of homework, student council duties to attend, ten over other clubs to manage, and that PAL Anonymous thing to run. I don't have time to babysit my members individually, I except them to be independent." Amethyst replied, as she went over to the bathroom that was installed in the Performer's Hall, where she let the rest of her Pokémon out, and began grooming her Pokémon with the products in her cosmetic case.

Amethyst also removed the pink ribbon from Eevee's left ear, leaving her to whine in protest, only for Sylveon to tell her to be patient. Amethyst's Pokémon purred in delight as Amethyst washed off the soap in their furs with the showerhead, making sure not to leave any soapsuds in them. Eevee was happily playing with the water, enjoying the treatment given to her. She definitely chose the right trainer to be around, she thought, as Amethyst blew dry the Pokémon, and sat on a bench provided to brush their furs, and in some cases, add some powder puff before brushing to help absorb perspiration later.

The Performers, who were grooming their Pokémon in the Performer's Hall (they simply used brushes and powders without the soap and the like), looked in envy at the clean and sparkling state her Pokémon were in. Her Sylveon had the feelers on her left side wrapped around Amethyst's right arm, and rubbing her head against her leg.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Amethyst barked. "Hurry up and practice for your Free Performance! You do want the Princess Key from the Showcases you've registered to, don't you?" While it is true that they have to pass the Theme Performance first, the Free Performance would be harder, as they had to compete against those who passed the Theme Performance, and they wouldn't know what tricks the other Performers may have up their sleeves to strengthen their performances during the Free Performance section.

"Let us practice too." Amethyst threw her Pokéballs to reveal her Gardevoir, her Latias, and her Glaceon. She also retrieved a gymnastic ribbon from her bag, and walked to one part of the stage of practice.

Later….

"Glaceon, Ice Beam." Amethyst commanded. "And Gardevoir, use Thunderbolt!" Glaceon froze the falling Draco Meteor, turning them into chunks of ice, and Gardevoir used Thunderbolt to destroy them, showering the stage with icy blue sparkles. Amethyst jumped up high, and twirled her ribbon around such that the ribbon caught the blue sparkles.

Amethyst was about to twirl with her ribbon, when a brown blur ran up in front of her and decided to do her own dance. Amethyst was so stunned that she tripped on her own ribbon, and used her telekinesis to upright herself. Gardevoir used Psychic to help untangle her from her ribbon, and Amethyst brushed herself, and checked just what ruined her performance.

"You again, Eevee?" Amethyst sighed, recognizing her own Eevee as the one who did the dance. A guilty Eevee looked down with her ears drooped.

" **I'm sorry."** Eevee said. **"I just saw you dancing, and I wanted to join you, really!"**

'Well she did have a pretty dance, I concede, but I didn't plan on including it in the Amare City's Showcase I am participating in.' Amethyst thought. She had decided that she would strive for the title of PAL Duchess this year. 'Wait, maybe I can include her dance somewhere…'

Just as she was about to say something, she heard a voice saying, "Come on, Eevee…you can do it!" She turned to see Serena's Eevee trembling under the gazes of the other Performers who wanted to see her beautiful dance. Amethyst carried her Eevee, and walked over to Serena's group, and said, "How do you expect her to perform in a Showcase if she can't even practice here and now?"

Serena's Eevee looked like she wanted to cry under Amethyst's cutting remark, and Serena apologized by saying, "I'm sorry, I'll try my best to get her to overcome her shyness before my performance."

"Serena, you're in the school team, make sure you live up to this privilege." Amethyst warned, as Serena's Eevee's ears drooped. Her own Eevee hopped on her shoulder, and said, **"Don't be shy! Let your dancing passion show! I can do it, and I'm younger than you!"**

" **How are you so…outgoing?"** Serena's Eevee asked.

" **When I hatched I was already in this school grounds, and then I've hunted for food here alone, you know, while avoiding trainers that wanted to catch me. Toughened me up after a while."** Amethyst's Eevee declared.

" **No wonder. I was alone in a forest all the while until Serena came."** Serena's Eevee mumbled.

" **I became picky with my trainer, and I found the perfect one at last…but it took me a while to get her as my trainer."** Amethyst's Eevee affectionately rubbed her head against Amethyst's cheek.

"Took you a while, alright….with you stealing all my Poképuffs." Amethyst muttered.

" **She understands us?"** Serena's Eevee was surprised.

Amethyst's Eevee nodded. **"All the more reason why she's my ideal trainer!"**

"You already heard of me prior to even meeting me in person." Amethyst said dryly.

"Rumours about you sure fly, huh?" Serena asked. "Being popular must be hard work."

"You said it, Serena." Amethyst replied, as Serena looked down at the lone star that was pinned to her collar cuff, and to the star enclosed in a circle on Amethyst's collar. She was even more determined than ever to attain a Triple Star ranking for herself.

* * *

Ash was in the school supply store, in need of a whole set of stationery, as his own stationery was crushed during the Pokéathlon session where somebody's Rhyhorn wasn't watching where it was jumping while it was practicing for the Lamp Jump, and ended up accidentally crushing Ash's stationery which he put on the bench. Oh, the bench was broken as well, alright.

The trainer ended up having to pay for the bench, and he had to give Ash his monthly allowance so that he could buy a new set of stationery. As he was a Double Star, Ash got a total of 5000 Pokédollars from him. Ash grabbed a basket to contain the stationery he wanted to buy, as he took from a shelf a few pens, which are either blue or black in colour, and moved on to the pencils themselves. He needed to write an essay about Afghanistan for his Social Studies paper, which meant some research as well.

" **This is infuriating."** Pikachu grumbled. Lucario nodded sullenly.

"Tell me about it." Ash muttered back. "Seriously, if that student had been careful with his Rhyhorn, we wouldn't be in this mess already."

"Hey, Ash." Cynthia called out.

"Hi, Cynthia." Ash replied. "What are you doing here?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pikachu and Lucario look at the bags available for sale.

"I got to get a few new notebooks, my old ones are running out of pages." Cynthia answered. "How about you?"

"Somebody's Rhyhorn crushed my on hand stationery, and everything was crushed, including my pencil case, so I have to get new ones." Ash muttered.

"Wow, that's pretty awful." Cynthia commented. "Do you think I should get a clipboard or a binder to record the plans for the school talent auction thing?"

"You can always get a clipboard from the main office. They have so much of those, they won't miss one." Ash said dismissively. "An empty binder would have to be bought, though."

"Oh, do we have a bad boy here?" Cynthia asked slyly, as she brushed her bangs away from the eye that fell over.

"Maybe." Ash shrugged, raising his eyebrows at Cynthia's action.

Cynthia shrugged. "I got the hairstylist from Curl Up and Dye to style my hair this way. Says that this gives me a look that says, 'I am sophisticated.'"

'You grew out too, and that made you even more popular.' Ash thought, as he chose a nice-looking navy blue fabric pencil case with a miniature version of the Eeveelutions on it.

"What are you thinking about?" Cynthia asked, snapping Ash out of his reverie.

"Oh, I was thinking back on how I became a shy new student to the leader of the most popular clique." Ash invented. "I mean, I was friends with Misty and the others, and Amethyst was the one that let me sit with them. Surprisingly they turned out to be my true friends. The most popular clique was nothing like those guys described them as."

"You thought they won't do anything to you?" Cynthia enquired, as she got the notebooks she wanted, but stood there, presumably waiting for Ash.

"Misty and Brock said we were friends. I wasn't in a position to pass up friends at that time." Ash answered, as he checked to make sure he had everything he needed, before signalling to Pikachu and Lucario that they are leaving. When he did, both of them got to the checkout counter, and paid for their items.

"True. Everyone who is knew just wants to make a quick friend." Cynthia agreed, as they exited the shop.

"How is the recruiting helpers coming along?" Ash asked.

"Oh, I have been enlisting the aid of teachers for this event. I even got the drama director, Mr. Carl, to act as the auctioneer, which should lend the right note of campy fun to the proceedings." Cynthia replied.

"You mean the drama teacher that Jude said likes to put up Super Pokémon Battle Shows during Drama Club practice?" Ash was incredulous.

Cynthia nodded. "Yup. Or do you think I should get that Brad Van Darn guy?"

Ash shook his head. "It's up to you. I did put you in charge or recruiting helpers, after all."

"I thought I'd get an opinion." Cynthia shrugged.

"Maybe you can ask Jude. After all, he's the captain of the Drama Club." Ash said.

"True." Cynthia conceded, as they reached their dormitory, and pressed the buttons to their floors. The elevator stopped to deposit Cynthia, and they waved each other farewell, before the elevator door closed, and moved on to Ash's floor. The elevator doors opened, and Ash walked down the corridor.

" **Huh, I never thought you'd mention to Cynthia about how you used to be a new student. Everyone forgot about it when they saw you as the leader of the most popular clique, huh?"** Pikachu asked.

"You were listening?" Ash replied, and Pikachu nodded. "I can't believe it myself either. Everyone would have forgotten by now that I was the newest addition to their clique because everyone thought of me as the leader of that clique. I remember what happened after that lunch…"

 _Brock and his other male friends cornered Ash in the bathroom, and Ash had told him why he was unable to join them at their table. Ash also mentioned their invitation to have lunch with them from now on._

" _You have to do it, Ok?" Brock said in response "And then you have to tell us all the horrible things that they would say about the other students and the gossip they would tell."_

" _I'm not sure. They all are pretty nice, and Amethyst seems really sweet." Ash said thoughtfully._

" _Oh no, Amethyst Paradinight is definitely not sweet. She's an obnoxious suck-up, lying scumbag." Brock warned Ash._

" _She's fabulous, but she's evil." Brock's green-haired friend, who is called Cilan, nodded in agreement._

" _Why do you hate them?" Ash asked, bewildered._

" _What do you mean?" Cilan said._

" _Those four. You seem to really hate them." Ash stated._

" _Yes. What's your question?" Brock enquired._

 _Ash sighed in exasperation. "My question is, why?"_

" _She actually ruined Cilan's chance of getting a Triple Star Ranking." Brock answered._

" _Really?" Ash widened his eyes, and Cilan nodded._

" _I got to carry this mark of punishment, which means my Star Rank won't rise beyond Double Star." Cilan said sadly, and Ash felt a stab of sympathy for him._

" _Now, look. This isn't about hating them. The girls think this would be a fun little experiment if you were to hang out with them and then tell us everything that they say, and we have to agree." Brock suggested. "Would you just do it for us? Please?"_

 _Ash nodded. "Alright."_

" **Only they never said anything mean about others."** Lucario remarked.

"I really couldn't tell who was lying or who was telling the truth. I don't know which side to take back then." Ash smiled at the memories, as he reached his room. He needed to do his homework before they met for dinner, and even then, perhaps they could do their homework together, since they were all assigned the same homework anyway.

When he checked his email for any updates, he realized he got an email from Cynthia asking if it was ok that she reserved the gymnasium- which seats more people than the auditorium, for the talent auction. She also asked him if it was ok to hold the auction on a weekend, as that is when most people are off school or work.

Ash immediately replied his approval, as he saw nothing wrong with what Cynthia had in mind.

Another email came from the school, which was about the International Brain Challenge. Every year, there would be this academic competition held between schools of different countries, and the teachers would select the students to represent PAL Academy. Of course, they don't send the same students for all the rounds, it's usually a different group of students for each round they are in. They usually sent the Single Stars for the preliminary rounds and stuff, and saved the higher-ranked students for the later rounds.

Usually, interested parties must register to take a series of tests, and the ones with the best scores would be able to get in, but there are cases where the teachers would hand-pick the students themselves without even taking the tests, perhaps because those students have always been performing well, thus their confidence of their abilities to perform well in the competition.

Where this competition would be held also differs, which meant the selected students would have to board a plane to get to the destination. According to the email, if the students were selected, they would have their plane ticket and lodgings at that country paid for as well, as the competition this year is going to be held at Los Angeles, California.

Ash then closed his email, not being interested in that sort of competition, as he himself was already busy with a lot of things. He proceeded to open Google and research about Afghanistan for his Social Studies paper.

* * *

"So, Cheren told his ex, Skyla that he had a new girlfriend called Regina or something. He said that he met her in a Science Camp overseas during the summer." Jude said. They were in Amethyst's room, and they had called for an order of pizza. While waiting, they decided to gossip while doing their unfinished homework together. "Skyla thinks she could be nice and all, but is tired of Cheren reciting every conversation he's had with Regina to her."

"What's Cheren trying to do? Make Skyla jealous?" Phillip asked.

"If you ask me, Cheren and Skyla don't look good together when they were dating anyway." Rosaline said.

"Too true." Ash nodded. "What's his new girlfriend like?"

"According to Skyla, Cheren said that she has naturally blonde hair and never needs to get her roots touched up, always gets straight As and is in all honours classes."

"Doesn't that sound like us?" Phillip asked.

"I know right?" Jude replied. "Also, she can do a back handspring, and often does them in parties and in restaurants."

"So can I." Amethyst said dismissively.

"And she does them often? Show-off much?" Ash added.

"He said she's coming to see him during Thanksgiving." Jude informed them.

"That's like in three months." Phillip said sarcastically.

"Also, she has her own horse. Apparently they don't have Pokémon there, you know." Jude laughed.

"Pokémon are way better." Amethyst replied, as her Sylveon affectionately rubbed her head against her leg. Her Eevee jumped on her head, while her Skitty was on her lap in an instant, agreeing with her statement.

"And since she is always busy reading books, she doesn't own a TV." Jude went on. "No answering machine either."

"Probably no one wanted to call her, because there is nothing to talk about." Ash said dismissively.

"I bet he made her up, to make Skyla feel threatened, you know, by her perfection." Amethyst told her theory. "I bet some of the conversation he told her about were repeated, but Skyla just didn't notice."

"But why would Cheren do that?" Rosaline was puzzled.

"Who knows?" Amethyst shrugged, just as Rosaline went to the bookshelf, and extracted a scrapbook from it.

"Oh, is that the secret book?" Jude asked, and Rosaline nodded.

"I remember. That is where you write the secrets, stories, and the gossip about the students who go to PAL Academy." Ash said.

"Only we keep it to ourselves. We are pretty good secret keepers after all." Phillip placed a finger on his lips. "Also, we use it for good purposes, never for ill intent or anything. We don't use it to spread rumours, because it's wrong."

"Remember the first time we showed Ash the book?" Rosaline asked, and they thought back about that time.

" _Wow, your Special Star room is really nice." Ash was admiring Amethyst's room as they entered. They had decided to hang out today, and had invited Ash along. He thought her room looked more like an apartment rather than a regular dorm room._

" _Higher Star-Ranked students get better room accommodations after all." Phillip said, as he sat at the edge of Amethyst's huge and comfy bed. Ash noted Amethyst was apparently fond of the Usuki Doll Series, as he saw a whole shelf dedicated to Usuki Play Sets and their Dream Structures. Also, there were a whole row of Usuki Dolls in various outfits._

" _Serves up!" Amethyst came in with a tray of five cups of frozen hot chocolate provided with spoons, and everyone, except Ash, took one cup each._

" _Here." Rosaline offered him the fifth cup._

" _It's for me?" Ash pointed to himself._

" _Yeah, who else? Ghost?" Rosaline gave him a funny look, while the others tittered._

" _I love him. He's like a cute lost little foreigner. I want to adopt him!" Jude gave Ash a hug, and rubbed their cheeks together._

" _You're too young to be a father, Jude. You're only 12." Amethyst huffed, as she ate her own frozen hot chocolate. Ash took a bite, and found it to be delicious._

" _Oh my God, I remember this." Rosaline extracted a huge sketchbook from Amethyst's shelf._

" _I haven't looked at that for a while." Jude said, as he took the book from her, and flipped through. "Check it out, Ash, it's our Secret Book. We cut out pictures we print from Internet and we write stories and secrets that we know about them."_

" _Only we don't use it for malicious purposes." Phillip added, and Ash was puzzled._

" _You see, if anything happens in school, or an incident came up, that is when we use the book to deduce the culprit of the incident based on past records and what we know about the person. That is the purpose of the book, nothing more, nothing less." Amethyst explained._

" _If we do anything that forces us to carry the mark of punishment, we write them down too. We are no exception to this." Phillip said, nodding. "The thing is, the information in this book helped us bring the wrong doers in our school to justice."_

" _For instance, we know that Clair is envious of her cousin Lance, and wished to unseat him of his title as Junior Dragon Prodigy. So, let's say if Lance is sabotaged, Clair would be a suspect because of her envy." Rosaline explained, and she turned to the next page, which contained Cilan's profile._

" _Cilan was caught trying to swap his answers with Jude's by erasing his name on the exam paper, and replace it with his own. Had one week of cleaning duty for that." Ash read out._

" _An incident also happened where it was discovered that someone's exam answers were all erased and was written with "I am stupid" instead." Phillip continued reading, pointing to Cilan's page. "Cilan was the prime suspect at that time, because of that incident with Jude. Amethyst reported her suspicions, and true enough, it turned out to be Cilan. That resulted in Cilan's Star Rank being restricted to Double Star."_

 _Ash felt his blood go cold. Cilan was restricted to Double Star because of that incident? That means he actually deserved his penalty, and was never wrongfully punished._

" _That's why you should be careful around him." Rosaline nodded to Ash._

Just then, Amethyst went to the door, and received the boxes of pizza from the deliveryman. After paying, she set the pizza down on the table, while Ash went to the fridge to get some cans of drinks.

"But really, all we want is the school to be a peaceful place to live life in. After all, we do live in our dorms until school holidays. So why would we even bother tormenting the students?" Ash said, as he took a bite from his slice of pizza.

"Hey! Stop putting chilli powder on the pizza!" Amethyst smacked Jude's hand. "You know Rosaline and I can't stand chilli." She scraped the chilli powder that had accidentally gotten on her slice, and took a bite, before gulping it down with lots of Coke.

"Ok, sorry." Jude apologized, as Ash turned on the TV, knowing a comedy show was about to commence. "Anyway, how is the auction thing going?"

"Ryoko was hoping we'd come sign up ourselves. I told her we'd stop by her table during lunch to consider." Rosaline informed them. "She said it would probably get a lot more people to sign up if they see our names, although last I saw, she had almost thirty volunteers."

"Won't sound so bad if we auctioned off our talents to the community." Jude shrugged.

"What if no one buys me, though?" Amethyst mumbled.

"Please, you're the most popular girl in school. They'd be fighting to get the winning bid for your talent." Phillip snorted, as he finished his slice of pizza, and reached for another one.

"But what talent would you want to auction off?" Rosaline asked. "I'd do tutoring in History. Or teach them how to write a lovely poem for Valentine's Day, or maybe how to paint a nice picture."

"I don't know…tutoring maybe? Or teaching someone the secrets behind Pokémon grooming? Or combinations for an Appeal? Maybe teach them how to excel in the activities for the Theme Performance? Play musical instruments? Possibilities are endless." Amethyst mumbled, leaning back on a pillow.

"I'd probably do computer programming or something, or tutoring a student." Phillip nodded. "Or teach them how to play a good game."

"I guess I choose to teach the strategies of battling or to the Pokéathlon…or tutor at a subject I'm best at, like you guys." Ash shrugged.

"I'd coach them in sports…if they like them." Jude said. "Or do tutoring like you guys. Our choices are endless."

"Should we just auction them all at once?" Phillip joked.

"Please, they'd have to pay a huge amount just for the whole package." Ash scoffed.

"That's the thing." Rosaline grinned. "Maybe we could afford to go somewhere expensive."

The talk stopped as the comedy show, Mind Your Language started to play on TV, and they were laughing their heads off on the funny antics of the characters.

"No, what is not my name." Jude mimicked the character. "Arceus, this part got me!"

"Who is not here and what is not here either." Rosaline tried her best to imitate the male character, which just succeeded in adding to the peals of laughter.

"So next time when we get charged, all we need to do is act like this, and we can get away with murder!" Phillip pointed out. "The policeman said not to bring them back even if they committed a murder."

"I think Morgan would be the one to try that only to fail." Amethyst remarked. "He'd slip up by saying, 'My name is Mor- I mean, what is not my name!'"

Ash laughed, and agreed. "And the police would take him into custody and he'd have to be bailed out!"

The others also started imitating various people, Mind Your Language style, such as Clair, Whitney, Diantha, Cynthia, and even teachers such as their form teacher Miss Davis.

"I'm telling you, What is not my name! I will kill you if you tell me that one more time!" Jude was doing his version of Miss Davis, and Rosaline actually fell off the bed in laughter, kicking her legs in the air rapidly.

"This is priceless!" Phillip was banging the floor with his fists.

Eventually though, it reached 11pm, and they had to go back to their rooms. Amethyst greeted her friends goodnight, and decided to prepare for bed herself. She laid out an extra basket for her Eevee, seeing as she didn't want to return to her Pokéball.

As she climbed into her bed, Eevee asked in a cute voice, **"Can I sleep with you?"**

Amethyst gave her Eevee an incredulous look, and said, "No!" before turning off the lamp, and lying down on her bed. Eevee waited until she was sure Amethyst was asleep, before climbing onto her bed, and snuggled somewhere below her chest. She marvelled at how comfortable it was, before drifting off to sleep.

Amethyst found herself back in the basement of her house, chained up to a wall and her family were taking turns to make use of various instruments to torture her to see her reaction, not caring about the deteriorating condition of her body due to lack of nutrition and the fact that they were purposefully weakening her with various torture methods. She bit her lip until she was bleeding as she knew crying out would ensure more punishment, more pain.

Her clothes were ripped and were barely covering her, as her family members laughed at her predicament. Her second brother stuck a firecracker in her, and set it off, burning her thighs, and causing bleeding in her opening.

When she woke, she was sweating and trembling. The sun was rising, and she realized it was morning already. Amethyst reassured herself that she wasn't back home, and she was in school, where she'd be safe for the time being. One thing she was assured about was her family members won't rape her, because they wouldn't want to stick their pricks somewhere filthy. Not that she had done it before, but it's a good thing they thought of her as a whore. She dimly registered there was something warm on her body, and removed her blanket to see Eevee peacefully sleeping on her.

"Eevee!" Amethyst shouted, causing Eevee to wake up.

" **Good morning."** Eevee greeted cheerfully.

"Get off me." Amethyst ordered. Eevee did, but not before giving a good morning lick to her face. Amethyst retaliated by taking her Quick Ball, and returning Eevee.

" **No~."** Eevee cried out, as she was returned in a red beam of light. Meanwhile, Amethyst freshened herself up, and straightened her hair with a brush. She threw on a pink shirt that contained a Sylveon, Jigglypuff, Chansey and Ditto, with the slogan "On Wednesdays, we wear pink." It was a perfect shirt to wear as today was a Wednesday. She also wore a black skirt, and her school blazer with her Star Rank pinned to her collar.

"Let's go, Sylveon." Amethyst called. Her partner Pokémon nodded, and intertwined her ribbons around her arm as they left.

* * *

Something weird happened to Ash today. It all started when a group of students were clustered into groups looking at something at the noticeboard. Ash supposed it was some article from the newspaper. Usually, the Newspaper Club would cut out an article that they think would highlight something important (whether from local or international papers), and post it there.

'Wonder if somebody's dad has been accused of money laundering again?' Ash thought. 'Some parents can be really self-centred. Before doing something illegal, they should think of how their kids would feel if they get caught.' Ash shook his head, and walked right by on to show he wasn't going to have any part in the gossip. A bunch of people stared at him, which he glared back, causing them to turn back again in fright. They should save their staring for their books. If they spend as much time staring at their textbooks as they do at people, they'd be a genius by then.

The weirdest part was, Cynthia came up to her locker to put her Biology book away (followed by her gang of admirers, of course), and she said, "How are you doing?" to him as he was getting his Advanced English textbook and his Chemistry notebook out.

"I'm fine." Ash replied nonchalantly.

"Well, I hope you would bring glory to our school." Cynthia said, as she slammed her locker close.

'What?' Ash thought.

"See you in class." Cynthia greeted, as she went off, her group following behind her like lost Growlithes. Ash shrugged, and made his to the cafeteria, and was in time to hear Jude say "Nice shirt." to Amethyst. As she hasn't buttoned up her blazer, her shirt was in full view. Ash had to admit it was a cute shirt.

"Thanks." Amethyst replied, as they got their breakfasts, and sat down at a table.

"I think Cheren should bring this Regina girl to the Regional Diversity Dance, you know to prove that this girl is real." Rosaline remarked, as she started on her eggs.

"How I dread that school dance." Amethyst muttered. Usually in mid-October, they would have this school dance to celebrate the various regions that the students who attend the school come from.

Whenever the school dance is near, they would always find their lockers flooded with invitations and gifts from students who wanted them as their date to the dance. However, every year, they would find some excuse to forgo the dance, and play some board games in either Ash's or Amethyst's room.

"You still forget we also have a Winter Dance the week before Christmas." Jude said dryly. "But that is when we need to set up booths you know to recruit members for our CCAs."

"But this year may prove to be interesting." Ash said, as he nodded towards Cynthia being followed by her entourage of male admirers. "I'd like to see those guys fighting to see who gets Cynthia as a date."

"And perhaps it would turn out someone had already asked Cynthia." Rosaline joked, and everyone laughed, just as Professor Juniper walked past.

"Hello, guys." She greeted. "How is school so far?"

"It's going great." Ash replied, and everyone nodded.

"Good. Don't stress yourself too much. And congrats on being selected for the International Brain Challenge."

"Wait, what?" Rosaline was puzzled at the last part.

"Didn't you read your school email?" Professor Juniper was surprised. "You five were selected to be the competitors for the Final Round. Phillip's selected as the captain of the team, while Amethyst is the vice-captain."

"That is if we even make it to the Finals." Ash mumbled. No wonder people were staring at him earlier.

"We will, have some faith in your school." Professor Juniper nodded. "Don't let us down." With that, she made her way to the staff table.

The five of them looked at one another as Professor Juniper left, and immediately took out their phones to access their school email account. Sure enough, there was an email stating they were selected as the team that would go into the Final Rounds for the International Brain Challenge, though Phillip and Amethyst had additional notes that they are the Captain and Vice-Captain of the team respectively.

"Oh man, the Final Round is always the most intense." Jude groaned.

"Tell me about it." Ash muttered. The Final Round would consist of one Individual Round and one Team Round. The Individual Round consist of one-on-one competitions between the two teams. Each team member would play one round, and whichever school team that wins the most rounds would emerge the winner. The Team Round would consist of 100 questions that varies in subjects, and whichever school team that answers the most questions would emerge the winner.

If in the event that the school teams have one point each (winning one round and losing the other), they would have a Sudden Five-Minute Death Match. One player from each of the school team would have to face off against each other in a rapid-fire style series of questions. The questions asked during this round consist of General Knowledge, Contemporary Knowledge, Numbers and Logic, and Words and Letters. Each player would be given five minutes on their clock, and the first contestant (determined by coin toss for the first round where the loser goes first was asked a question by the off-camera "Questioner", and their clock would start counting down.

The timing mechanics were similar to those of a chess clock; if a contestant answered correctly, their clock would stop, and their opponent's clock would start running. If the active contestant answered incorrectly or passed, their clock continued to run and another question was asked. Each contestant was also given three switches in this Death Round. By saying "switch", the competitor could stop their own clock and start their opponent's with the current question.

Once a player's clock run out, the other player's team would be declared the winner of the International Brain Challenge.

"I don't know why they make it so hard in the Final Round." Phillip sighed.

"It's probably so that the school teams have a chance to prove that they are really the best." Rosaline muttered. "When does this competition start anyway?"

"According to the schedule given, the competition begins in late October. The Final Round would commence by mid-November, we'll need to check who our competition would be." Phillip read the attachment.

"But seriously, only the smartest of the smartest can actually complete the individual challenges in the Final Round." Amethyst said, as she paused to drink her milk. "Remember last year, one of the challenges was to fill in an empty Sudoku grid with a 1-9 in an S line, and the person couldn't even look at the board when she filled it in?"

"Oh yeah. Still, it was way cool how she did it." Ash replied.

"We can do it too." Phillip said dismissively.

"I don't know, I don't feel very comfortable when I am doing a challenge and everyone is watching me." She jerked her thumb towards the other tables, where there were people staring at her like she was some new exhibit in a zoo. Some guys were even craning their necks to try and see her chest. "Come on, let's go, I can't stand this any longer." The others agreed to book out of there, since they only had fifteen minutes left to get in line for morning assembly.

'You'd think she's used to it by now, but…' Rosaline thought, as they were on their way to drop off their trays.

One thing is for sure, though: Rosaline is glad she is not as popular as Amethyst.

 **BP: I haven't touched this story for a long time, so bear with me for a while. Yes, mysterypink98 has started college, and she hasn't contacted me for a long time, not since late January, so I am alone in this Fanfiction Project. Forgive me for the late update, because I have to stick with the usual length of the chapters, or else, questions would be asked, and I'd probably be accused as lazy.**

 **I doubt mysterypink98 is happy with me removing a Legendary she wanted from her team roster in the PAL Series Wikia, but I had to. She had five in her team, while Jude and Phillip only had four. She did say to give more to those two to make it fair, but with Phillip's type specialty, that is impossible. And since Rosaline is the weakest of the Elite, it makes no sense at all if she had more Legendaries than either of those two. So I removed one to give to Jude instead. I also cannot consult her because she has not contacted me yet.**

 **I don't know if I should even say that. I can't see her profile pic and her status or her last seen in whatsapp, so I deduced she must have blocked me or something. Perhaps she's avoiding me, or just wanted to concentrate on her JC life. Maybe she made new friends and forgot about me or something. I am starting to have doubts already if she would ever contact me. I really wish I could consult her on my story ideas, but that seems….like a dream?**

 **Maybe she's really busy. But March holidays had already started, so she might have more free time….but I don't know if that includes talking to me (laughs nervously)**

 **Anyway….There are a few story ideas that I might go through with once I finish PAL Chronicles and Dark Chronicles. Please take a look at them:**

 **Title of the story: Untitled as of now**

 **Summary: The last thing Ash and his Elites remember was being in a mission investigating a device that was smuggled in their region that apparently allows one to manifest and use abilities despite the fact that they don't have any aura, and being attacked by an army of people using the said device. So why did they wake up in another world, specifically in a world where they are apparently Defense Attorneys/Prosecutors/Detectives?**

 **Much to their distress, their Pokémon have turned into Plushies and their Key Stones are now useless. Not only that, they are separated from their team members, and their CommuniDexes are replaced with a high-tech watch, which meant they have no way of contacting one another. And why do those strange people living in that world claim to know them, some even saying they knew them for years? The five of them have to live their "lives" as they stand the courtroom for various cases, while hiding their powers from these ordinary people, and find their way home. (X-over with Ace Attorney)**

 **Questions:**

 **1\. I wonder which PAL Elites should be Defense Attorney, Prosecutors, and Detectives? (E.g: If you think Rosaline should be a Detective, just say "Rosaline should be a detective in this AA world").**

 **2\. Should the Elite Leader be known as Pakura Ameyuri or Amethyst Paradinight (her name in PAL Academy)?**

 **3\. Should we have pairings with AA characters? If yes, what pairing do you hope to see?**

 **4\. For those who have read the PAL Chronicles, you should know Shiki is dead. Do you want the reverse to happen (Pakura dead, Shiki alive), or you want it to remain the same? Or do you want both alive?**

 **5\. Any suggestions for the title of this story?**

 **(Deperately need help….mysterypink98 can't be consulted as for now)**

 **Title of the story: Pokémon: Heartsong Symphony**

 **Summary: After finishing his travels with Kalos, Ash decided to travel to the PAL Region as recommended by Professor Oak. He had heard that the Pokémon League there was somewhat different from the regions he had travelled so far. When he reached there, he gains a travelling companion, who seemed to take an interest in him, and he/she may be keeping some secrets from him too. Whatever it is, Ash is in for a thrilling adventure with his new companion, and his companion would understand why Ash is the Chosen One.**

 **Question:**

 **In this fic, Ash will travel with one of the PAL Elite Four members (Would not be known to Ash until he takes the Elite challenge). Who do you vote as Ash's travelling companion? Note: Because the travelling companion is an Elite Four instead of a Gym Leader, I make up for it by putting one less travelling companion for him.**

 **Votes so far (Votes are collected from all the reviews of the PAL Series):**

 **Pakura: 4 votes**

 **Phillip: 1 vote**

 **Rosaline: 2 votes**

 **Jude: 1 vote**

 **If you have any questions related to my story, please PM me, review, or send me comments in my Deviantart account (I have a Journal post so just post comments on the questions you want answered). You can also request I discuss a topic related to my Fanfiction Project so you can understand more about how my project works.**

 **My username in Deviantart is cutethings97. Do check out what I have there so far!**

 **Please comment on the pictures I have made there. I have no comments so far *sob*. Oh, and do help out with the PAL Series Wikia too!**

 **Oh yeah. One more thing. For the resurrection fic, I know the title was "The Unlikeliest Second Chance at Life" but recently I had this thought to change the title to "Return of the Fallen" Do you think I should change or let the old title remain?**

 **Option A: Change to "Return of the Fallen"**

 **Option B: Nah, don't change. The title's fine.**

 **Just a reminder: Tell me what pairings you want for this story. Jude, Phillip and Rosaline are all free game.**

 **Anyway, do review this story!**


	5. The sweet new student, PAL Anonymous

**BP: I realized I haven't touched this in a long time. I'll try to do what I can to continue the plot, since it's a school after all. Also, mysterypink98 and I have fallen apart, so her OC Rosaline can't be used in this story as I felt it is emotionally tiring to do so without remembering she was the one who created it, and same goes for all the other stories I have written.**

 **I will put her on the shelves and use her should I desperately need an OC for other purposes of course, since it's technically mine (I guess?). Hence, I decided Rosaline won't be with anyone in the story, sorry guys.**

"Oh, there're two Eggs!" The entire class was gathered around Professor Juniper's desk, where two Eggs were lying on a cushioned casing with the glass case removed.

"Yes, the first Egg is one I brought from Kanto the other day." She indicated a reddish brown one. "The other is one I got from Undir Núll Mountain." She gestured towards a white one with light blue flower like patterns.

"What kind of Eggs are they?" A girl was tilting her head left and right.

"What do you expect us to do, Professor Juniper?" Another asked.

"Well, I propose as a side project, I'll take care of one Egg, and one of you take care of another." Professor Juniper said. "Of course, as a class, you should observe the state of the Egg every day and record any changes."

"How would you decide who gets to raise the Egg and keep the Pokémon inside?" Lance asked.

"Who gets to keep the Pokémon inside? Well, it's the person who gets the highest marks for the pop quiz I gave earlier this week to see how much you've retained." Most of the people in the class groaned except Ash and his friends. "And that goes to…our Vice-Chairman Amethyst."

"But I already have one idiotic baby to take care of." Amethyst was indicating to her Eevee, who was gnawing at her collar, though she came forward to select the Egg she wanted. "Gee…I can't decide which Egg. What do you think, Rosaline?"

"Huh? Well…" Rosaline said. "Personally, I'll pick this one." She pointed to the reddish brown Egg. "I feel affiliated with it after all."

"Ok thanks. I'll pick the other one then." Amethyst grinned, as Rosaline face-faulted.

"Why did you ask me to pick?" Rosaline muttered.

"Well, from the years I know you, I learnt that the opposite from your choice is usually the better option." Amethyst answered, and as she reached out for the Egg, it shifted slightly, indicting whatever was inside was alive. Everyone watched in awe as she took the Egg and carried it in the Egg case. "Once it hatches, it can play with my other Pokémon…" When her Eevee yipped in excitement, Amethyst said, "Yes, you too, Eevee…"

As she said that however, the bell rang, and it was time for them to get to Chemistry Class, which was scheduled to be in one of the labs, prompting them to quickly pack up and make their way to Chemistry Class. On the way, he spotted Cynthia, looking beautiful in a casual sweater and a pair of jeans that accentuated her figure nicely in all sorts of ways with matching stiletto boots. She was accompanied by her usual entourage of boys she had gained during the first week of the school year.

'Cynthia's such a dame.' Ash thought, staring at her. 'She's the most beautiful girl in the world, and I don't even feel like giving her a sarcastic remark.'

"Ash. Ash, are you alright?" Amethyst frowned at him in disapproval when she realized what he was looking at.

"Yeah, great, Amy." Ash replied.

"Do you like her?" Amethyst asked, pointing at Cynthia who was walking past them.

"Me and a broad?" Ash sounded incredulous. "Get serious. She just seems, I don't know…"

"Yeah, right. Stand in line." Jude scoffed, as he pointed to some familiar faces among the entourage of boys. "See? There's Morty. You remember he's the mystic seer of the school. He's got a fan club as well and popular among the girls. And there's Juan, he has many female fans, and is considered very dashing. Also, he is a former winner of the Grand Festival. He is quite the celebrity type, putting on shows with his Pokémon during our sessions together. And there's that actor guy, Brycen, member of my Drama Club. He's so famous he's got his own cereal box. I'm sure you know that right?"

"Big deal. What do they have that I don't?" Ash raised his brow.

"Time to spend with her. After all, she got more popular ever since she did her hair like that." Phillip replied promptly. "They on the other hand are not as busy as you, so they can dedicate some of their personal time to her. I thought you said you don't want to date, though?"

"Well, school is for dating, like hanging out and going to movies, not for finding soulmates." Ash waved him off.

"If you want her, I'll advise you to get rid of the competition. After that you can ask her to the Interregional Diversity Dance or something." Jude suggested.

"That's an idea…" Ash grinned, as they got to the Chemistry Lab, though a student worker came up to Ash with a pink hall pass with his name on it and told him to meet Principal William in his office.

"Don't worry Ash, I'll take your homework and your notes for you if that's what you're worried about." Amethyst said. "Just go see what he wants." Ash nodded as he passed the Class Diary to her and made a detour towards the Principal's Office.

* * *

"Is there something I can help you with, Principal Anderson?" Ash asked, as he entered the Principal's Office, as William sat behind his desk sipping tea. "It must be important, considering you pulled me out of Chemistry Class."

"Yes, I know how much you enjoy your lessons, Ash, but we have another pressing matter at hand, and I believe you as Student Council President should handle this." William replied. "The paperwork has already been handed and filed in, and all we are left is the Star Ranking and class she will be placed in…along with other stuff, since it is a huge blow. But there is no choice."

"Wait, what?" Ash was puzzled, just as the intercom said, "Principal Anderson, the potential student to see you."

"Send the sweetheart in." William called out, as the door opened, and in came a girl around Rosaline's age. She had black hair and green eyes that can make emeralds jealous. She had a petite figure though with a fairly sizeable bust and had delicate features that few girls can rival. To add to her femininity, she was wearing a lovely pink dress with a white collar and darker pink ribbon sash around the waist with puffy sleeves.

"Hello, Principal Anderson." The girl said politely with a dazzling smile. "I'm ready to take the test to see if I'm worthy of being in the school."

"This is Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo. Akeno, this is Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum, out Student Council President." William introduced.

"Hello, Ashura. It's good to meet you." Akeno held out a hand.

"Just Ash will do. Great to see you too." Ash replied, as they shook hands.

"Ash, I trust you'll help her feel welcome and find someone to give her a school tour?" William asked.

"I see, so you want me to make sure she feels comfortable in our school when she gets in." Ash nodded. "Sure, I'll do my best. After all, we take care of the other students and no one is left out. Good luck for your test, Akeno, and when you settle in, I'm in HSD AP Class A and we can choose your guide from there." With that, he smiled and left the office.

Because of this matter, Ash was late getting to lunch and also, he had to find the other members of the Student Council to find out how the arrangements of the auction has went. So it was a surprise when he got to his seat at their table with his food and saw that Rosaline was missing.

"Where is Rosaline?" Ash asked, as he took the seat next to Amethyst.

"She got a call, so she went somewhere to answer it, as the dining hall is noisy." Jude answered. "You missed the field trip announcement, by the way."

"What?" Ash was startled. A field trip?

"Our class would be taking a field trip to the Pokémon School in the Alola Region located in Melemele Island. You know, since Alola Region has a separate school from PAL Academy, and it would be a good idea to learn something from the students there and vice-versa and bring it back to help in the curriculum. Rooms would be paid for, but you'll have to pay for your own plane ticket." Phillip replied.

"Sounds like a great opportunity." Ash commented.

"Although some of the other students in school might not be able to afford that ticket." Jude frowned. "I mean, our monthly allowances are different after all."

"The ones with Financial Aid would have more school subsidies though." Ash pointed out. "So, you guys going?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Jude sounded amused, as Phillip laughed.

"Well, I can use a break. I mean, there's Hau'oli City, where there is a Shopping District and have plenty of local goods and souvenirs. Not to mention, you can get everything from fashion items to popular treats to eat there, and we can leave the preparation for the guests to the teachers." Amethyst replied. "After all, they will be coming here as well."

"Yeah, you have a point." Ash nodded. "It'll be a nice change of scenery. We can also hold the auction while they're there so they can be impressed."

"They are there to learn, not to sightsee." Amethyst retorted. "So, what did Principal Anderson call you for?"

"Apparently there is going to be a new student. I met her in the office." Ash answered. "Her name's Akeno."

"Wait, you don't mean Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo, do you?" Amethyst interrupted, as she looked up from her Macaroni and Cheese

"Why yes, how do you know?" Ash was surprised.

"We shared an enrichment class when I was younger." Amethyst replied without elaborating. "Her name was also memorable in the sense that the Chevyo Clan is a family of spirit mediums. These mediums are known to channel spirits but they also use their spiritual powers for other purposes. They used to live in Ten'i Village in the Sinnoh, but recently moved to Ariolo Village in this region. Everyone who has bothered to read the regional papers besides their own should know."

"Just you, then." Jude answered, rolling his eyes.

"What you're not aware of would definitely fill up several Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix books, Jude." Amethyst shot Jude a glare. "And what is taking that idiot so long?" When she saw Rosaline was nowhere near, she took her plate of turkey croquettes and Macaroni and Cheese and replaced them with her broccoli and mushroom.

"Rosaline isn't going to be happy when she returns." Phillip remarked dryly.

"I hardly think that matters, Phillip, unless there is a type of broccoli and mushroom that happen to be spicy." Amethyst shrugged. "Besides, she also steals my desserts and I hardly say a word, so who is she to complain?"

Ash laughed, as he said, "I think we better eat her lunch. Lunch is almost over after all and Rosaline doesn't look like she'll be coming back any time soon. It'll be a waste if we just threw this in the trash. If she's hungry we can make her a bento or something."

Jude and Phillip shrugged, before helping themselves with her lunch, as they kept glancing up to look out for their friend.

" **I wonder where Rosaline went."** Pikachu mumbled, as Lucario shrugged.

* * *

"I wonder what happened to Rosaline." Ash said, as he looked at the empty seat Rosaline usually occupied as they gathered in their classroom for English. "Something is not right here."

"Must be something to do with the call she received." Amethyst rolled her eyes, as Miss Davis started to call for their attention.

"Students, I have news for you." Miss Davis was addressing the class. The students looked at one another, wondering what sort of announcement their teacher would have for them that was not mentioned in the morning announcements. "We are going to have a new student in our class due to the student's high marks in the test. Hence, she is placed in the Advanced Programme with a Triple Star Rank and in our class as well."

"Wait, don't tell me…" Ash remembered Akeno who was scheduled to take the test during lunch hour. 'What did she score on her paper, anyway?'

"Please, come on in." Miss Davis said, as the door opened, and sure enough, Akeno came in with an angelic smile on her face, wearing the school's blazer over her casual attire, a Rotom following behind her casually. Everyone was somewhat shocked into silence. "Please introduce yourself."

'She sure radiates a glow of complete sincerity.' Ash thought.

Akeno gave a bow, and said sweetly, "My name is Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo. I'm sixteen years old this year, and I decided to enrol in school to learn and help my clan to the best of my abilities. I just want to say, it's an honour to be transferred in this class and I hope you would all bear with me."

"I'm sure the honour is all ours." Miss Davis smiled. "Please, take Rosaline's empty seat for now, until we can find a suitable seating for you." Akeno smiled, and went to sit at Rosaline's empty seat. "Oh, and Ash, the Class Committee and the Student Council may be affected sometime this week. Please send a message to the rest of your members. I swear it's a bad time for it to be happening, but still…"

Ash frowned, but recorded in the Class Diary that Rosaline is absent from English class. He had a nagging feeling that something was wrong and Miss Davis had knowledge on what was up with Rosaline, as Miss Davis started on the ways to summarize an English Comprehension passage. Amethyst was next to him taking notes, though he knew her thoughts are somewhere else at the moment.

"What do you think Miss Davis meant by the Student Council and the Class Committee being affected?" Ash whispered.

"How would I know? She's a little eccentric. With her rumoured OCD and all, I won't be surprised if she left out a few details and would try to repeat it to you later." Amethyst muttered.

"Who has OCD?" Miss Davis appeared from behind them.

'Talk of the devil.' Ash thought, as Amethyst said, "No one, Miss Davis. We were just discussing the topics of the essay we did the last time and how it can be improved."

"Good to know you're working hard, but try not to focus on too many things." Miss Davis replied, before walking away.

"Nice." Ash grinned, but his smile dropped when he saw Akeno. "But how did she get to be in our class? Usually those who get high marks would go to AP B Class at best."

"She must have scored full marks for her test and have participated in other competitions before she entered." Amethyst replied. "Principal Anderson would never allow her in the class unless he is more than confident that she can cope. Then again, she is a prodigy of her clan so it's not really surprising she will end up here sooner or later…in this case, it's sooner."

"Do you think she happen to know something about the reason why Rosaline didn't show up for class?" Ash whispered.

"I won't put it past her. Even as a child, she is skilled in the art of divination and can utilize all the methods, like tarot reading, tea leaves reading, that sort of stuff. The thing is, she uses spiritual power rather than psychic power and she gets information from the spirits wandering around. She's a nice girl, but very creepy." Amethyst answered. "If I were to guess, she will blend in rather quickly."

"Alright in groups of five or six, please write up a summary of Chapter 7 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." Miss Davis announced. As soon as that happened, Phillip and Jude went over to them with their chairs, and sat around their tables. However, they heard a set of footsteps, and looked up to see Akeno smiling at them.

"Would you let me join you, Amethyst?" Akeno gave a dazzling smile, as the class broke into whispers.

"No way, the new girl just approached the most popular group like she belonged!" One said.

"The new girl knows Amethyst already?" Another gasped.

"Not surprising, since Amethyst is very well-known." A third answered. "But to talk to her in a casual way like that…"

"No way will they accept." A fourth laughed, as Akeno looked nervous.

"That's enough!" Amethyst said to the class, glaring at them. "Whatever Akeno does, it's none of your business. How rude for you to talk about her like that when she is trying to fit in! I don't care what clique she chooses to join later or who to befriend, but we are in the same class, and we must treat one another with respect."

The class fell silent, as Amethyst said to Akeno, "Sure you can join us, Akeno."

Akeno smiled, as she shifted her chair next to Amethyst. "Thank you!"

"So, introductions?" Jude gestured.

"That'll be nice." Akeno smiled, as Phillip began to write down his ideas of a summary for the chapter.

"I'm Jude Harrison. I'm the Discipline I/C of the Student Council and the Sports & Wellness Ambassador for the class. I am a captain of…a lot of clubs."

"Lazy ass." Amethyst said, smacking him on the head, where they laughed.

"Akeno, the welcome package Principal William should contain the list of CCAs and the current captains. Unfortunately, our names appear a lot as we are captains for at least ten clubs." Ash told her. "Phillip, your turn to introduce yourself."

"I'm Phillip Robinson, I'm the Treasurer of the Student Council and the Cyber Wellness Ambassador for the Class." Phillip blushed.

"You already know me. I am also the Chairman of this class." Ash smiled.

"Yeah, you know my name, and I'm the Vice-Chairman of the class, and Vice-President of the Student Council." Amethyst waved her off. "There's also Rosaline, who is the Reading Ambassador of this class and the Secretary of the Student Council, but she's not here. I wonder where she went."

"I'll introduce you to the other Student Council members later so you can select your guide." Ash nodded, as Amethyst and Jude joined in the discussion of the summary.

"No need." Akeno said calmly. "I have already made my choice the moment I entered this class."

"Really? Alright, then who?" Ash asked curiously.

"Amethyst, will you be my guide?" Akeno turned to the girl.

"And let you accompany me to every single CCA I go? Girl, you'll be bored to tears." Amethyst replied. "You have no idea how packed my schedule is."

"Nah, that's alright. I've been looking to join some CCAs as well to have a more meaningful learning experience outside of books." Akeno answered. "We share all the classes together after all."

"You're in Gifted and Talented?" Jude was incredulous.

Akeno nodded. "Yup, I do love flower arranging and origami, hence Principal William decided to put me in the class."

'Oh great, why do I have to babysit?' Amethyst thought. 'First the Eevee, then the Egg, and now Akeno. I hope she knows my name because I am well-known in the school and not because she remembered me from her childhood.'

'If all of us were a family, she'd be the mother by now.' Phillip thought, looking at her.

" **And who will be the father?"** Pachirisu asked.

'I guess Ash.' Phillip shrugged.

'She seemed creepier from the last time I met her. Why did she transfer here?' Amethyst thought.

* * *

"We can do the paperwork for your new locker later, considering you'll need it if you don't want to carry all the books in your bag. It'll be heavy." Amethyst said to Akeno, as the group made their way to the final lesson in the afternoon, History/Geography, which meant they have to walk back to their classrooms. "Does anyone need to go to the washroom?"

"Oh yeah, we definitely need to." Ash, Jude and Phillip said in unison.

"No, I'm good." Akeno smiled.

"Alright, then you wait outside for us, and we'll take you to…what are you taking?" Amethyst asked.

"History." Akeno replied.

"Fine, just wait here for us." Amethyst nodded, as they made their way to the washroom.

Akeno shrugged, as she leant against a locker, not knowing a gang was making their way towards her. They stopped when they saw her.

"What's up, girl? Are you new?" Trip asked. Akeno gave them a glance, before looking away.

"Oh wow! You're an angel! Did you come from Heaven, because I…" He was cut off when Croagunk jabbed him with Poison Jab and dragged him away.

"I'm Trip." Trip held out a hand. Akeno shot her another look, but shook it. "This is Misty, that idiot is Brock, this is May and her little brother Max, Dawn, Iris and Cilan."

"Hey, girl, what's up?" Misty grinned at her.

"Akeno." She said, her face becoming closed off as she heard their souls and knew they were no good.

"Good to meet you, Akeno." Trip said. "Where are you from?"

"I used to live in Ten'i Village." Akeno said.

"Oh, the Sinnoh Region. I'm from there too!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Any particular hobbies?" Trip asked. "Do you play sports or anything?"

"No." Akeno answered shortly, hoping they would leave her alone.

"No, that's actually cool. That's totally cool. We could always use more boosters in the stands to cheer for the participants on competitions, you know." May smiled. "Listen. You need anything, you ask us, ok? We got you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Akeno nodded.

"Good talking to you, girl. We got to go for class, maybe we can hang out some…" She was cut off when the door to the ladies washroom opened, and Amethyst came out.

"Paradinight." Dawn's smile dropped.

"Berlitz." Amethyst answered, as her Sylveon growled. "And your lovely companions."

"Paradinight, the person with no empathy at other people's suffering." Misty mocked. Akeno clenched her fists. How can Misty say that?

Amethyst didn't seem fazed, however. "Yes I don't have time to pity the fact that you can't come up with a burn that won't be able to melt marshmallows."

'Ouch.' Akeno thought as she saw Misty fuming, but stopped when they saw the boys exit the washroom, and had no choice but to leave. As they walked past, however, Dawn whispered, "Trust me, those people would just stab you on the back if it would help appear cool to everyone. I'll be waiting at the gardens near the courtyard at five to hang out. You'll want to join us." With that, she left.

"Gotta love the classics." Jude said sarcastically. "Self-proclaimed cool and popular gang versus the nerds. Just get better with time, don't they?"

"They are soon to be irrelevant." Amethyst replied. "Come on, Akeno. Let's get to class."

The class turned out to be watching some movie called Duck and Cover which is a social guidance film on what to do when you see an atomic bomb or something. Everyone was getting sleepy as they watched the screen blankly or doddle on their notebook and whispering to their friends on topics that had nothing to do with History. Ash and his friends were trying to live up to their reputation by watching the movie and listening, though only Amethyst seemed remotely interested.

"Rosaline still had not showed up." Jude muttered.

"Let us face, without panic, the reality of our times. The fact that atom bombs may, someday, be dropped on our cities. And let us prepare for survival by understanding the weapon that threatens us." They heard the line from the movie.

Akeno was at an empty seat in front watching the movie attentively, and Amethyst decided to go talk to her. She took her chair, and placed it behind her, and tapped her shoulder.

"How are you settling in so far?" Amethyst asked.

"Just fine, thanks." Akeno gave a wry smile.

"Good. That's good." Amethyst nodded. "I noticed the gang wanted to hang with you. I'm not against it since I can't choose your friends for you and I won't tell the others either, but however I must warn you that the only thing we will discuss is academic matters. Nothing more, nothing less. I figured I should tell you this sooner than later in case I forget. After all, I'm a busy student."

"Who's talking?" The teacher asked, and Amethyst fell silent.

"Look. It's cute, it really is. You are an adorable girl and I am sure you'll be liked by everyone. But there is only so much I can help you with as a guide. You know that, right?" Amethyst whispered when the teacher turned back to her papers.

"Yeah, I know." Akeno nodded.

"Good thing you learn fast. Also, while I'm here, I'm going to let you in on a little tip. Find your place fast. Catch the rest of this flick. She'll most likely give a verbal pop quiz later. Extra Credit to those who can answer her questions correctly." Amethyst nodded, before quietly sliding back to her place next to Ash.

"What were you talking about?" Ash asked.

"Nothing to worry about." Amethyst shrugged.

* * *

"Should we try to call Rosaline?" Ash asked, as they made their way to the lockers after History, with Akeno listening in curiously. "We haven't seen her during the afternoon lessons after all."

"I think we should not disturb her." Jude muttered, as they separated to their respective lockers with their walking Pokémon. "We'll just have to go on without her. Remember it's time."

"Time for what?" Akeno turned to Amethyst. Amethyst's Sylveon gave her a hard look.

"Akeno, if you are going to be a student here, I'll advise you keep your lips sealed on secrets. No one really likes a gossipmonger, maybe except for those to look for dirty secrets to smear another person's name in school. After all, what we are going to do is top secret, so either you go mingle around to see which cliques you want to join, or follow at your own risk." Amethyst replied.

"No, it's alright." Akeno shook her head with a smile. "I'll keep my lips sealed, I'm not really the type to tell. You of all people should know this."

Amethyst paused from twisting the combination in her locker. "Why would I know this?" She shot Akeno a funny look.

"Come on, Amy. I know your memory never fails you." Akeno laughed.

"Ok, you got me, Akeno. My question is, what are you doing here?" Amethyst opened her locker to reveal her stuff that she took aside so she can access the pink door at the back of the locker, and put the password for the week in the lock. The door opened and she pushed Akeno and her Rotom in, before going into the locker herself with her Sylveon and locking the locker door from the inside and the pink door as well.

"The spirits told me everything." Akeno replied, waving her hand. "They say the dead tell no tales, but it's not true."

'Oh yeah. She is a spirit medium.' Amethyst thought, as the end of the hallway revealed a large room with five different coloured doors, presumably from five different lockers. The room consisted of a comfortable couch with a table in the middle with side tables and a Persian carpet. Along the side were a row of high-tech computers and surveillance cameras to keep watch of the hallway to see if any students were there to spot their exit or entrance and an intercom were installed as well.

At the other side was a pantry and fridge filled with snacks and ingredients for them to cook up and consume if necessary, filled with breakable dishes, utensils and even a tea set. Ash, Jude and Phillip were already there, sipping tea and munching on cookies, and was surprised to see Akeno.

"Are you sure bringing her was a good idea?" Jude asked apprehensively.

"Trust me. She won't tell a soul." Amethyst answered.

"You think so?" Phillip raised a brow.

"I know so." Amethyst shot back.

"If Paku says so, then we believe her." Ash cut the argument short. "Alright, let's see what problems we have to tackle now."

"Wait, you're the ones behind PAL Anonymous?" Akeno pointed to them.

"Yeah, we are." Amethyst nodded. "Phillip, the questions if you please."

"Alright. Here's one from a Troubled Friend. It says, 'Dear PAL Anonymous, my best friend has been dating this guy for about a year now. At one point, he and I spent an evening together. We kissed and almost ended up in bed, though I stopped it because it was not the right thing to do. I never told my friend about this little moment, and now they are happy and in love. I feel that this was keeping me from being completely open to my best friend. While I know it was something from the past, I don't want to ruin her relationship or our friendship. Should I tell her?'"

"Ah. A battle between being open to your friend and her happiness." Ash commented dryly.

"Why would they want to go to bed at this age?" Jude looked slightly disgusted.

"It's none of our business. Our duty is to help every student in this school, whether we agree to their actions or not." Amethyst folded her arms. "Now how do we answer this?"

Akeno, who have been listening quietly, said, "Why not say something like, 'You and her boyfriend may have almost made a mistake, but you didn't. Hence, this is your responsibility and your burden to bear, and it's not for you to dump it on your best friend, for it would be unkind. After all, friendship is not about blowing up people's relationships. One thing about friendship that it is not about being completely open. Friendship includes the flexibility of tact, warmth, and discretion. Drop the issue altogether and move on, for it is something from the past like you mentioned with a clear conscience, as you have done the right thing.'"

Everyone except for Amethyst stared at her in shock, and Akeno shrugged. "What I grew up around failed marriages, so I got to listen to some of the advices from a marriage counsellor."

"Because only the females in your clan are able to inherit the spiritual power, the clan structure is very matriarchal." Amethyst said grimly.

"That's right." Akeno seemed unfazed by the reason being bluntly pointed out.

"I think what she just said is a good idea." Ash said, trying to compose himself. "Phillip, did you get it down?"

"Er...I only got some points." Phillip frowned, looking at his notepad. "If only our scribe is here."

"How about I do it?" Akeno offered. At Amethyst's nod, Phillip handed the notepad and pen to her.

"Ok…moving on to the next question…" Jude said. "Oh, here's one from Fourth Sensational Sister, the Next Water Master."

"You don't mean Misty, do you?" Ash rolled his eyes at the long name as he knew Misty saw herself as very pretty and being the next Water Master despite the fact that she hardly did any training outside of school curriculum. "What did she want?"

"'Dear PAL Anonymous, one of my elder sisters' boyfriend told me that she is pregnant. When I went to verify this with my sister, she said if I told she would kill me. They are afraid to tell my parents and other sisters as they are scared as to how they will react. What should I do?'" Jude read out.

"At this point, she is just another troubled student." Amethyst said. "But this is something shocking, a teen pregnancy. After all, they are only what? 17? 18?"

"Our vow is to never gossip about any problems the students have and help them, no matter who." Phillip said, as he grimaced. "I kind of pity her I guess."

"If you do, don't bring this up to her face, otherwise she will find out our secret, and we are no better than those popular kids we see in books and movies." Ash agreed. "How should we go about this?"

"Being pregnant is no joke." Akeno replied, readying the pen. "We better tread around this carefully."

"Hmm…how about, 'As you did not mention the age of your sister, I am going to assume your sister is either a junior high school girl or at the very most, a high school girl. If your sister won't tell them, you would have to do so. This is because the baby comes first as it is a life we are talking about. Your sister, her boyfriend, his parents, and your parents will have a lot to talk about regarding the baby. Furthermore, they would have to decide on the actions taken about upcoming child and grandchild. I am very sorry for the difficult and sad time your family would have to go through as this is an extremely serious matter.'" Amethyst suggested.

"It's better to have the parents make it then the sister. After all, they are not the most responsible of people." Jude grumbled, as Akeno wrote down what Amethyst had said. "I know them better than most."

"Alright next question." Ash muttered.

"Oh, this is from My Addicted Brother." said Phillip. "'Dear PAL Anonymous, my brother is a drug addict. He moved out of our house around two years ago but usually comes back to wash his clothes and hang around a couple of times a month. He works as a barista in Coffee Cave and after the last time he visited I found I was missing about 2000 Pokédollars towards my new set of bow and arrows needed for Archery Club. I know he took it but I can't prove it. When I told my parents they seemed upset, but didn't really say anything to him. I am fifteen but I don't know what to do with this situation. What should I do?'"

"Can I just go and kick that brother in the ass for doing it?" Jude asked. "I mean, he'll just steal more money from the poor little sibling and probably smuggle drugs in as well."

"Archery Club, huh?" Amethyst said thoughtfully. "That would narrow down a lot of members. I wonder who it is. I think we should bring this matter up to my eldest brother and see what he can do."

"But first, answer that question." Ash pointed out. "We'll write this, then. 'The money is missing and you are right, your brother most likely took it, as there are no other suspects. I would tell him that I noticed the money is missing and that you suspect him and are disappointed. Politely ask for the money back, but don't expect it back. You have paid a high price to learn that illegal drugs can and will turn family members into strangers. Open a bank account to store your money and lock your possession up when your brother comes visit. If there is still an issue with your brother, please tell the Student Council members in your school and they can handle it.'"

"Yes, we better note this though because if the situation doesn't improve, the Hunter's Association would need to be involved because it's drugs we're talking about. We might need to do some investigative work as well." Akeno added. "After all, the students' well-being is our priority here."

"Oh, I do love to do detective work." Amethyst nodded.

"Yeah, we all know you want to be a Detective and a Prosecutor once you graduate." Phillip waved her off.

"Especially in the field of homicide." Amethyst grinned. "But really, it's surprising how many personal problems are really serious."

"That's what you get for having a variety of students from various backgrounds." Akeno shrugged. "Though I bet you there would be some repeats."

"Yeah, I know." Ash rolled his eyes. "This email for instance rants about how the teachers would not hear his pleas that he needed a better single room than the one he had in the attic."

"Morgan." Jude and Phillip said in unison.

"Just delete that." Amethyst sighed. "Everyone knows that it's because he doesn't have any stars and it's the only single room we have. He refused to share with the kids after all."

"With the number of emails, I'm sure we'll take quite a while." Phillip said. "Come on, no time for slacking."

* * *

"That was an interesting session." Akeno beamed, as they left the PAL Anonymous Headquarters. "I would love to join in to help out again sometime."

"I'll see what I can do." Amethyst replied, as she met up with Ash, who looked somewhat disturbed. "What happened, Ash?"

"The usual. Max and the others accusing me of ditching them for popularity." Ash waved them off. "I know I used to be friends with them, but…"

"Then what happened?" Akeno asked.

"Let's just say I almost made the biggest mistake of my life and hated the fact that I have a poor judge of character. Well, let's just go to the Captain/President Meeting." Ash mumbled.

"Oh that one. Let me guess, the application for a booth for the Winter Carnival, and the Sorority/Fraternity Open Houses?" Amethyst said, as Jude and Phillip joined them. "I swear they pack a lot of events in the beginning." As they hurried into the meeting room, the other Presidents/Captains of all the CCAs in addition to the Fraternity/Sorority Presidents were already there, and took the remaining seats around the meeting table. As usual, Rosaline was missing.

"Hello, thanks for coming. You received the email, I presume?"

Everyone nodded, as William turned to Akeno. "Akeno, has Ash helped you choose your guide?" William asked.

"Yes, and Amethyst's a great guide. She made me feel welcome and letting me sit in to the activities she participated for me to learn about it with my own eyes and help me decide what I want to do." Akeno smiled.

William nodded, and called the meeting to order. "Alright, first thing's first. The Open House and night parties for all sororities and fraternities so the first years can decide which house to join, or not join at all. As we have planned the event before the summer holidays, have you all filled in your application and request forms of what is needed for the party for your sorority houses and respective hangouts?"

"Yes, Principal Anderson." The Presidents for the Sorority/Fraternity Houses replied, as they opened their bags to take out the application forms they had filled in, most searching the bag frantically. The other students looked at Ash and his friends, a little unnerved as they had sorted all their worksheets and forms in a neat plastic folder. In fact, Amethyst even sectioned her file with a clear label as to what should go where, which allowed them to take out their forms promptly.

"Ash, could you please collect and sort them?" William requested.

Ash nodded, as he collected it from his friends and the other students, and quietly sorted it out as what William requested, as William said, "Of course, the funds would be refilled this year and remember to spend them wisely and try to collect some money from the members to keep the house running to keep our ancestor's legacy running. Organize house events and throw parties wisely and set aside time to spend with your members because we'll have to organize the House Olympiad, where all houses compete in a Triathlon, Dancing and Quiz to see who wins extra funds and facilities and other upgrades for their house. So make sure to train hard for it and hang out with your members to know them better if you haven't."

'And as usual, the winner would be one of their houses.' The students thought, looking at Ash and his friends, but they merely said, "Yes Principal Anderson."

"Also. Our Winter Carnival is coming up, and due to the number of CCAs available, all captains would have to send applications for their booth and the activities provided for the said booth and the location of the booth so the map can be made for the first-years and potential members of your respective clubs. Ash, what are the reviews from last year's Winter Carnival?"

"Yeah, I have them here." Ash took out a document he compiled and printed. "According to the reviews, the food prepared for the Winter Carnival was sufficient especially as we had the help of the Cooking Club to provide free food samples and snacks. However, the freebies that some booths prepared were insufficient and ran out before we were even one hour in the Winter Carnival. The clubs also claimed that the budget was not enough for sufficient freebies and they chose quality over quantity for the sake of attracting new members. Apparently this is because they felt if they were to give out shoddy freebies, the new members may be deterred from signing up."

"But there is more to our clubs then just the gifts." A girl protested.

"I know." Ash nodded. "However, the gifts is still one of the first impressions besides the activities of course. And no offense, but some students are rather materialistic due to the upbringing. We try to cater to them a little bit since their parents are paying tuition and keeping our school running."

"Of course, we would like to avoid last year's complaints." William sighed. "But the school can only provide so much funds and each of you do have your club's funds."

"I have an idea, Principal Anderson." Akeno raised her hand. "About the upcoming Student Talent Auction event, why don't we allow some of the students who are in CCAs to represent their club and auction their talents off so that they can set aside a percentage of the funds for their club, while the rest goes to the funds for the senior trip? That way, they'll have more funds in their club's savings to buy more of the freebies of better quality."

"How did you know about the Talent Auction?" A boy asked.

"Well, you know, the school spirits wandering around school told me." Akeno said vaguely, as everyone felt shivers run down their spines. "In fact, there is some in here listening to us as we speak. Quite the contrary, they do walk around in broad daylight."

Everyone except for Ash and his friends and William screamed and scrambled for the door, only for the door to not open. They screamed even louder, and Ash was forced to get their attention by blowing a whistle. As everyone sat down, Amethyst let go of her hold of the doors.

"Listen, the meeting is not over." Ash glared at them. "What do you think your members will say if you guys were screaming like idiotic children just because of a useful announcement given by the supernatural? Sorry, Principal Anderson, please, continue the meeting."

William nodded, as he shot disgusted glances at everyone except Ash and his friends and Akeno, and went on, "I think Akeno has a point here. In addition, it might help advertise their club as well and encourage people to visit their booths on the day of the Winter Carnival. After all, there is still plenty of time to announce this to those who plan to register but have not done so yet, and plenty of time to those who have registered to decide on whether they want to represent their club. Would you bring this up to your Student Council members, Ash?"

"Yes, I shall tell it to them. I will also make the morning announcement tomorrow regarding this matter." Ash replied. "It is no problem at all, Principal Anderson."

William nodded his approval. "However, I expect you to go through it with all your members, and if necessary, allow your Vice Captain or President should you prove too busy." He shot a meaningful look at Ash, Amethyst, Jude and Phillip. "Also, if you are to give out something, please make sure it's within the budget of your club and your own allowance if necessary. Now, I would like to ask any more suggestions for the Winter Carnival?"

"Principal Anderson, if I may?" Amethyst raised her hand, as William turned to her. "Why don't we allow the students to dress up in costumes for the Winter Carnival? It's boring that we have to dress in a CCA shirt every year when we have to run the booth and it's rather plain and boring. If the students can dress in costumes relating to their clubs, like for instance the students from Japanese Cultural Club can dress in kimonos and the Fashion Club can dress up in their latest outfits and stuff like that to make it more attractive. After all, won't we need the members to attract the first years too? For the CCA T-shirts, if they wish to know the design of it, we can always hang a sample one at the booth."

"Hey, that's actually an idea." Phillip grinned. "I like it. Another example would be the members of the Library Club dressing up as characters from the books they read. It'll be swell."

"And we can even cosplay!" Another girl squealed. "Please, can we have it, Principal Anderson?"

"Go for it, Principal Anderson. The spirits say it's a year of change, after all." Akeno gave a vacant smile.

"Well, I don't see why not." William sighed.

"Oh, and maybe we can also include a Cleaning Booth which provides basic cleaning tools in case we spill a drink or food on our clothing and instructions on what to do with various stains." Lance suggested. "I don't think anyone would feel good walking around with stained clothing."

"That'll be an idea to consider." William nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Leave one place prepared for the Winter Ball and do not set any booths there for the entire day." Ash sighed, as he looked at the reviews he had documented. "There's complaints on the waiting time for the place to be prepared as some booths were set up there and they had to take it away and prepare it for the Winter Ball. Many actually came earlier than scheduled all dressed up and ready and by the time the doors opened their hair and makeup were slightly messed or whatever. Those preparing the venue were also complaining that they were so busy, they did not have lunch or dinner and never got to go home."

"Point taken." William nodded, as he arranged his stack of notes he had taken. "I'll discuss this with the staff, and get it back to the Student Council. Also, Captains and Presidents please set up meetings with your members in regards to the booth and submit the application to both the Student Council members and the staff for verification and approval. One more thing. I don't want anybody to overexert themselves again. Take time off to take a break once in a while." He sent another look to Amethyst, who gulped, as she knew he was referring to her.

* * *

"Well, I think what we need to do is to prepare for the Talent Auction first, and then the Interregional Diversity Dance, where we can assign those not in the Executive Committee to handle the preparations." Amethyst said. "After all, the Winter Carnival and the Winter Ball is in December, and that's a few months ahead."

"True, but it's good to start early." Ash nodded. "After all, there are also fraternities and sororities for us to rush and pledge. As usual, we'll have to get outside help for the events to build our rapport and keep the house running with the funds we have."

"I think we better send a message to Rosaline's sorority house as well, since she isn't here and I don't see the Vice-President during the meeting. How is their house going to survive like that is beyond me." Jude muttered.

"And must Principal Anderson make a reference to how I collapsed last year? I only skipped a few meals, big deal." Amethyst grumbled.

"He's just worried about you. You're one of the star students after all." Ash pointed out. However, he couldn't help but feel suspicious as he knew something was up, as now he thought of it, it had happened after Spring Break, where she had to go home on her parents' request, and she brushed it off as not enough sleep, but the way she tensed when asked says otherwise.

"And parties? No way would my house agree to it. Looks like it's going to be Video Game Night again." Phillip sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Well, maybe you should decorate your house with video game merchandise and even those weapons from the video games and dress up as video game characters for more fun and buy some new video games for first-years to try out." Akeno suggested. "Provide snacks that video gamers would eat when they're at the computer and soft drinks."

"That sounds swell, Akeno." Phillip grinned. "Are you looking forward to joining a sorority house?"

"Of course. Think of all the sisters I would have, and what we can do together. Maybe we can even study together to help with our grades." Akeno clapped her hands together.

"There is a sorority house dedicated to that actually." Amethyst admitted. "They are made up of those who specialize in their academic results. They usually meet up to you know just study. But for us, there is more to that and hence the CCAs we join and what we do outside of school."

"But really, where is Rosaline?" Phillip asked. "Could you call her?"

"I'll try." Amethyst took out her phone, and dialled her number.

Rosaline answered on the very first ring.

"It's about time. I thought you'd never answer." Amethyst said, as she switched to speaker.

"Well excuse me if I don't tell you where I go every single day." Rosaline sounded defensive.

"Oh, we left you alone, and when we didn't see you, we got worried, so we decided to call." Phillip answered, disapproval in his voice for Rosaline's rudeness. "I tried emailing you earlier, but you never responded and I know you like to read your emails. You do that all the time when we have meals together. Where are you, anyway?"

"In my dorm, but I don't want to be disturbed." Rosaline sighed.

'Is it just me, or is she sounding like me?' Amethyst thought.

"When happens when people go through isolation, anyway? Do they develop the 'I want to be alone' complex?" Jude joked.

"Not funny, Jude." Ash frowned, as Jude shrugged. "But really Rosaline, we're friends, why can't you tell us what's going on? You haven't showed up for lessons ever since the call, and you didn't show up to the meeting."

"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about it. However, I guess the school would suffer a big blow." Rosaline said airily. "I'm sure you guys can handle it. Besides, I didn't really need to attend the meeting, considering my so-called sorority sisters kicked me out tonight."

" **Wait, what?"** Pikachu gasped, as everyone was shocked. Amethyst frowned, as she knew there was something more to it than her being kicked out.

"Do you want me to go over to talk to them?" Ash asked.

"No, it's alright, it's a good thing actually. Less hassle for me for the thing I'm preparing." Rosaline answered.

"Are you sure you don't want to say it, Rosaline?" Akeno said sweetly.

"Who are you?" Rosaline sounded rude.

"I'm the new student in your class. My name's Akeno." Akeno replied. "You really shouldn't ditch your friends like that…Isn't it right, Amy?"

"Oh, so you went and got yourself a new friend when I'm not there. And it looks like we need to work together with one more outsider who is trying to fit in." Rosaline sounded sarcastic. "Nice to know when I'm not wanted."

"Rosaline, I knew Akeno since I was a child. I am her guide as part of Student Council procedure. Surely you understand?" Amethyst tried to pacify her.

"Akeno had helped us quite a lot today when you were not there." Jude agreed.

"Yeah, we needed to do a lot of things and you bailed on us." Phillip added.

"Really, Rosaline, what is wrong?" Ash sounded worried.

"What, are you jealous?" Amethyst suggested.

"I am not!" Rosaline was starting to get angry.

"Yes, you are. You're jealous because there was a new student that got into our class instantly and we know how much you hate them. You're jealous because you wouldn't talk to us about your problems and we had to take care of the new student. You're jealous because the new student seemed to fit in well with us and afraid that we don't need you anymore." Amethyst sighed.

"Amethyst, shut up!" Rosaline shouted.

"Could you just tell us what's wrong?" Jude sounded tired. "Do you want us to come over to your dorm to talk this out?"

"No, just…ARGH!" Rosaline let out a scream of frustration and hung up the phone.

"PMS much?" Phillip rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't seem to be it. She finished a few days ago." Amethyst answered.

"That's too much information." Ash shot her a look. "What do we do?"

"Just leave her." Amethyst replied. "If she's ready to talk then she'll tell us. No use prying, since we all know she'll give you a speech on your negative qualities and tell you not to talk to her until we're ready to change for the better and it's for our own good."

"Oh yeah, I remember." Ash muttered. "Who didn't receive a speech like that at some point?"

"Well, I cut her off." Amethyst grinned.

"By freezing her into a Popsicle for three days, giving her ice burns!" Jude added heatedly.

"She wouldn't shut up about our negative qualities and flaws." Amethyst didn't sound too sorry. "I mean, she has hers too! Who does she think she is, pointing out ours as if she doesn't have any?"

"Look, we're friends here, we don't need ourselves turning on each other." Phillip tried to calm the group down.

"Sometimes, I wonder if Rosaline wanted to be the most popular girl in school. She sure acts like she wanted to be." Jude sighed.

"Rosaline does. However, she doesn't want the attention that comes with it." Akeno interrupted. "Don't get me wrong, she loves the activities that she is doing now, and studying, but it is going to put a pressure on her little sister, who is trying to be as good as her. After all, it's common for parents to expect their younger sibling to do as well, if not better than the elder one."

"Her sister doesn't even go to this school." Jude protested.

"I guess we have to talk to her after our CCAs." Ash sighed. "It's almost five after all."

"Yeah…" With that, the gang separated to their respective CCAs.

"I'll be on my way to Japanese Cultural Club." Amethyst mentioned to Akeno. "Do you want to come along, or would you rather I take you to the courtyard so you can get to know those people better?"

"I think I shall take you up on your offer to take me to your CCA." Akeno replied. "It'll give me an advantage as to what to choose."

"Sure..." Amethyst said as a student worker came up to her with a huge package.

"Delivery for Amethyst Paradinight." The student said, handing her a slip to sign to confirm she received the package, which she noted was rather heavy.

"Who's it from?" Akeno was curious, as she ripped the package open, and gasped when she saw loads of differently coloured crystals. It also came along with two booklets on hidden facts about Mega Evolutions and the mechanics of Z-Moves. There is also a letter, which Amethyst opened.

 _Hey little sis._

 _Starting in the High School Division already? Boy, does time fly. I'm sorry for not writing sooner, but I've been really busy as they promoted me to the Head of the Blacklist Department and I also gained a third star for my Hunter's License! Furthermore, there are so many cases pouring in for my law firm._

 _Have you been training well? I really look forward to working with you as a Detective when you graduate and take the Hunter's Exam. Inside this package is Z-Crystals along with Z-Rings for you and your little friends. A Z-Moves is a special type of move in which a Trainer and their Pokémon's wishes combine to unleash an attack comprising the full power of both. These moves are very powerful, but they can only be used once per battle. Just like Mega Evolution, but I am sure with the bond you and you Pokémon have, you can use it more than once._

 _There are three different kinds of Z-Moves: Z-Moves which can be used by any Pokémon, with one Z-Move for each of the 18 types; status moves that have been turned into Z-Moves by one of the 18 type-specific Z-Crystals; and also Z-Moves that can only be used by specific Pokémon. Z-Moves work by powering up one of the Pokémon's normal moves, so the Pokémon must also know an appropriate move._

 _For the type-related Z-Crystals, the Pokémon must know a move of the same type as the Z-Crystal it is holding. For the Pokémon-specific Z-Crystals, the move required differs for each Pokémon. A Z-Ring is also required in order to perform Z-Moves, which I have modified to fit all the 18 Z-Crystals for you and your friends. A Pokémon can only use a Z-Move if the Trainer is wearing a Z-Ring and has the same Z-Crystal the Pokémon is holding. More details can be found in the booklet I sent you._

 _I hope this letter finds you well, and I am so sorry for not being able to protect you from our parents. One day, I swear I will bring you under my custody and bring you away from those monsters we call our parents and brothers. Stay strong, and make new friends! Also, I heard from Principal Anderson is that there will be a new student in school from the Chevyo Clan. I'm sure you remember her, you knew her from a class. Take care of the new student like I did you. I'm sure having a new friend would not hurt. Send my regards to Ash, Phillip, Jude and Rosaline._

 _With love,_

 _Shiki._

"That's really sweet of your brother." Akeno said, as she took out a Z-Ring that was fitted with all 18 crystals.

Amethyst nodded, as Akeno went on, "I know what is up with Rosaline."

"Really? And let me guess, you'll keep it secret." Amethyst said sarcastically.

"No, I'll tell you. After all, she would never tell you herself, stubborn girl she is. She needs her friends, after all." Akeno whispered it in her ear, and Amethyst widened her eyes. "It can't be!"

However, she composed herself, and said, "I think…you can have one." Amethyst said, going over to place the Z-Ring onto Akeno's wrist.

"A-Are you sure?" Akeno was surprised, looking at the Z-Ring.

Amethyst nodded. "You're right, things change. Come on, let's go, we're going to be late for Japanese Cultural Club."

* * *

"Wonder where that new girl is. It's been three hours." May wondered, as she and the girls took a walk at the courtyard. "Anyway, she must be amazing, consider she got into the best class in the High School Division."

"I have heard tons of comments earlier. All the guys think she's really pretty, with a sweet, angelic and innocent appearance." Dawn blew at her manicure. "I heard she is the member of the Chevyo Clan."

"Ok. So she's hot. She's well-connected." Misty added.

"I mean, she's pretty much one of us. So if she shows up, we'll just need to make it very clear that, from here on out, she's only nice to the people that we like. Agreed?" Iris asked, as the girls nodded.

As if on cue, Ash walked past on the way to his dorm, and Misty said, "Hey, Ketchum, where's the new girl?"

Ash turned around, bored as he said, "Akeno has a name, you know. And to answer your question, how should I know? Amethyst is her guide, not me. And I have not talked to her for three whole hours, as I, unlike you, have been busy with attending CCAs. Why would you want to know, anyway?"

"Well, since she's new here, I thought we'd help her out, let her know who to hang out with. Us." Dawn claimed. "It's so clear she belongs with us, with her charms and all."

"Right, right, then you find her yourself then." Ash brushed them off.

"What a jerk!" May hissed.

"But a hot jerk, nonetheless!" Dawn and Misty were fanning themselves. Suddenly, they heard a laughing noise and turned to see a small ghost in their faces. They screamed as more of those appeared and chased the girls. The ghosts went through them, and they suddenly collapse to their hands and knees.

"I want to be a housefly…" Misty sounded very depressed.

"I rather be a water flea…" May mumbled.

"I'm better off as a cockroach." Dawn said, sighing.

Behind a tree, Akeno giggled. "And that is a sample of my spiritual power." Beside her, an invisible Amethyst sighed in exasperation.

* * *

"I found out what is up with Rosaline." Amethyst said, as they ate dinner quietly in Ash's room, and turning on the TV and turned to a movie channel where they are currently playing some movie called, "Problem Child 3: Junior in Love."

Amethyst's Eevee was eagerly pawing at Akeno's legs, which Akeno obliged by putting her on her lap and scratching her behind the ears, leading Eevee to purr contentedly. Akeno's Rotom was floating around looking for appliances to possess.

"How did you find out?" All the boys and the Pokémon turned to Amethyst.

"Akeno told me. Nothing escapes Akeno after all." Amethyst answered.

"Tell us, Amethyst. What's up with her?" Jude sounded worried. "Is it her dad? Did he get cancer or something? Or is it her mum? Did she need a bone marrow transplant or something? I am sure those are treatable, as long as we…"

"Jude." Phillip cut him off.

" **Let her finish."** Ash's Lucario agreed.

"Really, there is nothing wrong with her parents or sister." Amethyst sighed. "She's going through a stage of denial."

"Denial?" Ash echoed.

"Rosaline's parents have gotten a new job in England and due to her academic results, she would be transferring to one of the top boarding schools there. The one she's going is known for turning out some of the world's smartest students." Amethyst said.

"Oh no…" Everyone was horrified at the implication when she said where they were moving to.

"Yes, England doesn't have Pokémon or sell their supplies. This mean when she transfers out of PAL Academy, she has to leave her Key Stone and Pokémon behind." Amethyst said grimly.

 **BP: Well, that was the only nicest way I know how to write Rosaline off that does not involve killing her. That was the least I could do as thanks to mysterypink98 for creating Rosaline for me to use in the story, but I can't write her in anymore (it's emotionally tiring), so I'm replacing her with Akeno. Akeno is an OC made by both Core AI and I, so you can expect her appearances in other stories as important information on her was already set.**

 **As usual, the spirits (she can see spirits even in the day due to her spiritual powers. For her, the dead do tell tales) told her that someone is transferring out soon, hence she promptly transferred there as she knew Amethyst was studying there from the beginning. Akeno's abilities are useful, especially since it involves making use of her spiritual powers to attack or used to gather Intel for her and end battles in a passive way (that is without actually fighting directly). Of course, as one of her specialities is Ghost type Pokémon, she is rather creepy despite her sweet appearance but overall a good person, and being one of the nicer ones among the five.**

 **I don't feel right (never did actually) including Rosaline in all the stories as she is not my OC in the first place, and she just gives me the reminder that it was a friendship fallen apart every time I write a chapter with her on it and it's emotionally tiring to write her in the story.**

 **I have another story idea where I'll do a rewrite of the One Piece storyline where many years ago prior to the One Piece storyline, Ash (happily married to Amethyst) had created a glowing aura fruit which contained his own aura and psychic abilities and sent it into another dimension using his aura so that it would not fall into the hands of the greedy to help a special person to unlock their dormant psychic and aura powers (though in the strict condition that the aura and psychic powers must belong to his wife Amethyst), before dying of unknown means.**

 **Of course, the Red-Haired pirates retrieved it from thieves along with the Gomu Gomu No Mi, and Luffy ate them both (being the curious idiot he was) and he found himself his canon powers along with aura and psychic powers and found himself with a Guardian Angel (invisible to everyone else) that is also known as Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum, who informed him that only those who have inherited his wife's aura and psychic powers can even touch the aura fruit he made and that his wife's aura and psychic powers currently reincarnated into Luffy.**

 **Also, instead of Ace and Sabo rescuing Luffy from Porchemy, Luffy's psychic powers saved him by ripping him apart the moment he screamed, killing Porchemy and traumatizing Luffy. Shiki Ketchum (first son of Ash and Amethyst, named after Amethyst's late fiancé and the current Prince of the region) found him and took him back to his home in the PAL Region as he was alerted by the fact that he detected his parents' aura and decided to train and raise him himself, and Luffy learns more about the Pokémon culture and world and find out what psychic and aura powers he possessed were and the fact that they can be manifested into abilities.**

 **Fortunately, he had Ash as his guide and advisor as to what he should do next and was renamed Ketchum D. Luffy and was trained alongside his children and also met the previous Elites' children and learn about the history of the legendary generation of Elites (consisting of Jude, Akeno, Phillip and Amethyst, whose aura and psychic powers he had inherited) and more about the first Champion Ash, who is also his current Guardian Angel.**

 **Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo thought Luffy had died and made a gravestone for him where he had been taken, and made him a sworn brother in his memory as he had not told Porchemy about their hidden treasure. Luffy decided to be the King of the Pirates and find the legendary treasure One Piece as he had not given up on his dreams as opposed to being a Pokémon Trainer, which Shiki decided to let him train and be taught some more knowledge for a few more years as he knew being a Pirate is as dangerous as the missions of a Treasure and Deep Sea Hunters.**

 **However, Luffy's goals changed slightly as he wished to bring the legendary treasure back to the home region so that no one would taint the legacy of the region he lives in as he knew just how much they value it. As he spent a lot of time with Ash and due to the fact that Amethyst's aura and psychic powers were reincarnated into him, he had also learnt how to use some of Amethyst's weapons (especially her sword style, which was something that had been passed down throughout the generations) in addition to developing some psychic and aura abilities. However, the downside was unless he had fully mastered his Devil Fruit powers and psychic and aura abilities, he cannot use both Devil Fruit and Aura/Psychic powers at the same time, for his body might not be able to take the strain and can kill him.**

 **When Luffy finally returns to his old hometown ready to start his journey and packed with everything he would ever need (thanks to Shiki Ketchum) along with his Guardian Angel Ash who will be there to guide the person who inherited his wife's aura and psychic powers, though only he can see him he was still a cheerful and lovable boy with the good luck of growing into a supernatural beauty inherited from Ash's wife Amethyst (and attracting both guys and girls alike), but beneath that mask lies a calculating, independent, smart and distant personality from his past and the teachings instilled into him and one that keeps secrets, even from his friends (though he might open up as time goes by) as he had also inherited some of Amethyst's personality traits and skills outside of combat. His morals may be questionable, but one thing is for sure- He will be the Pirate King.**

 **I doubt Luffy would own any Pokémon. As for pairing wise, I probably go for yaoi considering Luffy is thought of as cute and attractive and even the boys want him. It doesn't hurt that he is cooler, calmer and colder in this (not to mention smarter) and actually thinks before he acts and is really good in psychology and strategy (like Amethyst).**

 **Not to mention, he can use weapons and hand-to-hand combat if he can't use any of his abilities in battle, including the Devil Fruit ones thanks to his training with Amethyst, Ash and Shiki (their son, not Amethyst's deceased fiancé). Who won't be attracted to him? However, he have to keep his aura/psychic abilities and adopted heritage a secret as the World Government or those Marines or whatever would stop at nothing to try and find out his secrets behind possessing them so they can gain it for themselves.**

 **Yeah, it's RoyalShipping (what else?), since I am on board with Ash being with Amethyst. I originally thought she'd go well with Lance or Steven, but after seeing all you readers ship Ash and Pakura, I started to like them together. But I'm sure there are other fanmade characters out there who are shipped with Ash *shrugs*.**

 **It's not really a crossover, just a reference or two, since Ash and Amethyst are already dead in the story, though they will appear in forms of dreams and Luffy will learn more about them via those since he did have Amethyst's aura and psychic powers and he has Ash to guide him until he is able to master all his abilities fully.**

 **Oh yeah, and do check out the poll Core AI had out. It's on a side project he's working on with me, alongside the main Pokémon fanfic. And for you RoyalShipping fans, the main pairing for that upcoming Pokémon fanfic is of course, RoyalShipping. Bonus news is that Ash will be Pakura's first and only love in the story.**

 **Do review, favourite and follow, a** **nd I wish you all a Happy New Year!**


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